As life unfolds
by Milo2013
Summary: Forgiveness, trust, honesty. Just three little words that mean a lot. Mia Treswell has faced the good and the bad since she started at Hartfeld College but how will she cope with the news that will change her life? How will her relationships be affected? This story begins taking place during the winter break of the Sophomore books and then progresses throughout the year(mc x Chris)
1. Chapter 1 - And it begins

The winter break had just begun at Hartfeld College. Majority of the student accommodation were left derelict due to people returning to their families for the festive season. Apart from 14 Willow tree Road.

Zack and Kaitlyn both returned home to spend the winter break with their families and Chris was still competing at the nationals. This only left Becca, Abbie and Mia in the house.

Becca decided that spending Christmas alone was miles better than staying at what she described as the 'Shit hole apartment' with her family.

Abbie also remained at the house as she wasn't ready to face her family knowing that they would ask about Tyler and how there relationship was going. If she dared tell them that the relationship was strained it would only cause them to interrogate her on every single detail. She was just not ready for that.

To spare the awkwardness between Abbie and Becca; knowing that they hardly knew each other and to be frank, had nothing in common, Mia had also decided to stay at the house.

Abbie lead sprawled across the fabric sofa as she watched The Crown and The Flame Christmas special on the TV. She sighed, "I wonder if Tyler's watching this?"

Mia looked up from her laptop and gave Abbie a questionable look "Is that even a question? Of course he is"

Abbie remained silent, not even making eye contact with Mia. She ran her hand through her tight curls and sighed.

Mia closed her laptop down and moved into the living room, sitting on the sofa next to Abbie. "Why don't you try and talk to him, Abb's? If you don't communicate then nothing's going to get resolved."

Abbie sat up moving the sofa's cushions to support her back before turning towards Mia. "It's not as easy as that, Mia. Every time I try it ends up in us arguing. I'm sick of it! It's exhausting"

"Yes, but now you've both had some time apart. It may be different… I mean you're obviously missing him and I bet Tyler is sat at home now watching The Crown and The Flame, thinking about you as well."

Abbie smiled softly for a brief moment before her expression once again dropped. "You're so lucky."

Mia raised her eyebrow "Huh?"

"I mean you and Chris" Abbie continued "You have the perfect relationship. You're so supportive of each other and hardly _ever_ argue…"

Mia interrupted Abbie by scoffing. "Perfect? Have you _completely_ forgotten about the first quarter in our freshman year? The boy was the bane of my life."

Abbie smirked "True…"

Mia shook her head at the thought "Hey, but you know what? We talked it through and sorted the issues out. Now I can't imagine my life without him."

Mia reached out and placed her hand on Abbie's shoulder. Abbie looked up and smiled "You're right, as soon as Tyler returns from winter break; I'll try and talk to him"

With that Becca exploded through the front door with around half a dozen bags in her hands.

"What's all this?" Mia questioned as she stood up from the sofa and edged towards Becca.

Becca rolled her eyes and shoved a bag into Mia's arms. "Christmas decorations… DUH! Now come help me make this house more festive."

Mia and Abbie both exchanged a look before following Becca into the kitchen.

A few hours later the three girls were putting the final few baul-bauls onto the tree.

Becca took a few steps back, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulders. "Much better"

Mia scanned around the room looking at the various strategically placed decorations and lights. "It sure is starting to look a lot like Christmas." She paused for a brief moment "Hey, I was thinking… What if the three of us go out for a pre-Christmas meal this evening?"

Becca sighed "Ooh I could do with an occasion to dress up! Leave it with me, I'll go and see if I can get a table booked now at La Amour's."

Abbie raised an eyebrow "You can do that at such short notice? It's so fancy"

"Honey, my Dad has a lot of contacts. Now excuse me whilst I do my thing" Becca turned on her heel and wandered into the kitchen whilst dialling a number into her mobile.

Abbie turned towards Mia and made a snide comment "She mean's she going to whine like a bitch until her Dad gives in and threatens to sue the restaurant"

"Oh shh. It'll be fun" Mia smiled before running upstairs to start getting ready.

Mia stood in front of her mirror as she zipped up the back of her new sparkly rose-gold dress. "Perfect" She whispered as she checked her self out.

She finished her look off with a pair of false lashes and a deep red lip gloss that suited her tanned skin and dark hair perfectly. She gazed at herself checking for any imperfections before she suddenly became distracted by the sudden cramping of her stomach.

Mia clenched her stomach and put her hand over her mouth before rushing to the bathroom to be sick. She stood up and wiped her mouth.

"Mia, are you okay?" Abbie called out.

"Uh yeah…I'm fine" Mia responded as she fixed her make-up in the tiny mirror that hung on the wall. With that her phone began to ring. She looked down at the caller ID and Chris's name showed. She smiled to herself as she swiped to answer.

"Hey there stranger"

 _"Hey beautiful, just wanted to hear your voice"_

"Aww well aren't you sweet. How's the game going?"

Chris chuckled _"I think the games going well, we've won three out of four games so far and Zig and Manny haven't killed each other yet which is always a good start. Anyway, how are you holding up?"_

"I'm glad, you've got one proud Girlfriend cheering you on. I'm doing good. Me and the girls are heading out for a bite to eat in a minute."

 _"Sweet, where you all going?"_

"La Amour, I think it's in the town centre or something"

 _"That's a bit fancy for a bite to eat"_

"Well, it's more of a pre-Christmas meal. Becca's sorted it out"

 _"In that case then, I better let you go. Text me later though… I'm missing you"_

"Of course I will. I miss you too... I love you"

 _"I love you too. Bye"_

Mia continued to smile to herself as she stuffed her mobile back into her purse.

"Mia! Come on!" Becca shouted up the stairs.

Mia took one last look at herself in the mirror before she made her way down stairs. The three girls then left the house to attend their dinner.

The next day…

Mia stretched as she woke up. Her stomach still full from the food she consumed the evening before. She looked at her clock that was placed on the small cabinet next to her bed. Her eye's widened as she realised the time "One pm? I guess I must have been tired"

Mia slowly got out of her bed and got dressed for the day before making her way downstairs to join the others.

"Afternoon" She yawned as she entered the living room and saw Abbie sat on the sofa.

Mia was met with silence. "Where's Becca?" Mia asked.

Abbie remained still. Her eyes gazing out the window, not even turning her head to make eye contact "She said she had to go and run some errands this afternoon"

"You okay?" Mia asked concerned.

Abbie looked up to Mia, who was still stood on the last step of the stairs "You know when you over think and panic about silly things?"

Mia hopped down from the last step of the stairs and took a seat next to Abbie "Mmhmm… What's panicking you?"

Abbie took a deep breath "What if things don't work out between me and Tyler and it turns out I'm pregnant? As in what if I'm pregnant right now? I mean, I don't think I am but…yeah…"

Mia's eyes widened and her eye brows raised unsure of what to say.

Abbie rolled her eyes and sighed "I told you it was silly"

Mia's face softened and she put her arm around Abbie "I'm sure you're worrying about nothing but if you are worried, you could always do a test… You know, just to be sure?"

Abbie paused for a moment "Mia… I've never done one before. If I do… Would you do one as well? You know, just so that we're in this together…"

"Sure. I have a couple of spare tests in my drawer. You go upstairs and I'll go down stairs and we'll do it together."

Abbie gave Mia an inquisitive look "Spare?"

Mia shrugged "I tend to do a test every now and again. You know just to make sure... but yeah, they're cheaper at home than they are here in Hartfeld so I bought a few in advance"

Abbie nodded "oh".

Mia ran upstairs to grab the two pregnancy test kits from her bedroom drawer.

Mia entered the downstairs bathroom and completed the test. She combed through her hair as she waited for the result to show. After around 30 seconds she picked up the test and took a quick glance at the result. A sickening feeling ran through her body as she read the result. "Oh shit. No, no" she muttered to herself. Suddenly feeling light headed she sat herself down on the toilet, breaking out into a sweat as the panic hit her. Mia clenched her stomach as her eyes began to well, a million thoughts racing through her mind. What will her parents think? How's Chris going to react? How does she tell her house mates? What about her education?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Abbie knocking on the bathroom door "Hey, you okay?"

"Uhh, yeah. Two minutes" Mia quickly got up, wiped her eyes and stuffed the test into her pocket before exiting the bathroom. There was no way she was going to say anything to Abbie, not yet anyway. After all, she was still trying to process the news herself.

"It was negative, panic over!" Abbie announced as Mia emerged from the bathroom, her face relieved from the worry.

Mia smiled weakly "See, I told you it was nothing to worry about…"


	2. Chapter 2 - 99 problems

After a few weeks, the Students of Hartfeld begin to return. The football team returned with a victory and a party followed shortly after at 14 Willow Tree Road…

The sun shone through the purple curtains and onto Mia's face, waking her up from her sleep the following morning. She rolled over resting her head on Chris's chest who appeared to be still asleep. As she snuggled into him, Chris slowly began to stir.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders to pull her closer to him. He looked down at her with a grin on his face. "I've missed this"

Mia reached up and pressed a kiss onto his lips that lingered for a few seconds "I've missed this too" She responded softly as she slipped back into his arms.

Mia stared up at the ceiling deep in thought, her face vacant. Should she tell him?

Chris noticed her vacant look "Everything okay?"

Mia paused as she mentally prepared what she was going to say next. "Chris…I…I have some news-'' She was interrupted by loud shouting coming from downstairs.

Chris's attention was grabbed by Zack's angry shouts from down stairs. He looked back at Mia "We'll talk later, yeah? When there's less noise"

Mia bit her lip and nodded. "We should probably find out what's going on down there"

She let out a small sigh as he left the room. It was times like that where living in a shared house became difficult, there rarely was any 'private time'.

Mia quickly put on an old top and sweat pants then ran downstairs to catch up with Chris, who was stood in the kitchen along with the rest of the house mates.

"What the hell, what the actual hell?!" Zack continued to shout with Kaitlyn stood next to him with her jaw open in shock as she read the piece of paper in Zacks hands.

"What's going on?" Chris asked cautiously.

"This letter! Has anyone seen this or am I the first one?" Zack responded

All your house mates shake their heads to signify that the letter had not been read.

Zack sighed "The house…it's got so much wrong with it including the boiler that the house needs an inspection…and if the inspector finds anything else, we risk loosing this place…"

Abbie raised an eyebrow "What else is wrong with this place apart from the boiler?"

"The spongy wood that holds the house in place, the windows that we haven't had the funds to replace, the creaky floors, the loose front step… there's a whole list" Kaitlyn responded.

Mia stayed silent, this was not the news she wanted to hear. She couldn't loose the house, not now.

Chris scratched his head "Can we not just fix the issues before the inspector comes?"

Zack shook his head, waving the letter around in the air "The inspector is coming on the weekend. That only leaves us with five days to fix everything. Even then, there could be more issues with the house that we just don't know about."

Mia sighed and pulled out her mobile "Let me call Gabriella. Considering she's the landlady, she may be able to help."

"Gabriella, it's Mia."

 _"_ _Oh hi, Mia. How are you?"_

"Not good, we have a huge problem…"

Mia continued to fill Gabriella in on the news that they've woken up too.

 _"_ _Mia, I'm sorry. I don't know what to suggest. I don't have much money at the minute with taking care of Rico and all. I can do a little to help but I don't know if it will be enough."_

"We really can't lose this place, we have no where to go."

 _"_ _I'm sorry. Scan me through the letter so I can have a proper look and I'll let you know if I can come up with any sort of solution"_

"I'll scan it through to you in a moment. Sorry to spring this all on you"

 _"_ _No, it's fine. Just take care of yourselves, I'll be in contact again soon"_

Mia slammed her phone down on the kitchen side and ran out into the back yard, slamming the door behind her.

Abbie, Becca and Zack moved into the living room with the laptop to find out more information.

Chris and Kaitlyn remained in the kitchen.

Kaitlyn gently nudged Chris "Hey, I was going to follow her out there to speak to her but you'd probably be the best person…"

Chris nodded in agreement and sighed "She's seemed kinda down since we've been back…has she mentioned anything to you?"

"I know what you mean. She's usually so happy and positive but in the last week or so, it seems forced… but no, she's not said anything to me." Kaitlyn shrugged "I know she's my best friend but if she was going to tell anyone anything, it would be you"

"I'll go and speak to her" He replied as he headed towards the back door, grabbing Mia's coat on the way out .

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Chris wandered out into the back yard. He spotted Mia sat on the front steps of the summer house with her head in her hands.

"Mia?" He called out.

She didn't respond. He made his way through the snow and sat down next to her, putting her coat over her shoulders and stroking her hair.

Mia looked up to him, tears streaming down her face. "We can't lose this place. We've made so many memories here already… so much hard work has been put into this house to make it ours"

Chris wrapped his arm around her waist "We might not have a choice. If the worst does happen, we'll just have to temporarily move back into our dorms until something else becomes available."

Mia shook her head "No all the dorms are filled… We'd have to find something off campus… I doubt there would be anywhere available that would fit all of us."

Chris looked down at her and wiped the tears off of her cheeks "If I have to walk half way across town just to be with you, then I will."

She shuffled herself closer to Chris's side and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his jumper. "I love you"

"I love you too, gorgeous"

Mia pulled back and looked up to him with a smile on her face.

Chris chuckled "There's that smile I've been missing" he paused briefly "So what was it you wanted to tell me earlier?"

Mia's smile weakened. She analyzed the situation. Earlier that morning felt like the right moment to tell him but that courage was gone and now definitely was not the appropriate time to announce the fact they were going to be parents.

She waved her hand and shook her head "Oh it's nothing, don't worry about it"

He gave her a concerned look but didn't say anything.

Mia broke her eye contact with him and started to stand up "Lets go back inside…It's cold just sat here"

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Mia took her coat off as the warmth of the house hit her then went to join the others, Chris following closely behind.

Kaitlyn gave him a look to question if he'd manage to get anything out of Mia. He subtly shook his head as a response.

Mia took a seat next to Kaitlyn. The rest of the house mates gave her a concerned look. Mia took a deep breath "Guys, I'm good. I just needed a moment to myself… Now have we got any suggestions?"

Abbie screwed her face up and hissed "Sebastian!"

Chris raised an eyebrow "Huh?"

"Well it's obvious. An argument broke out at the party between us, him and Tyler. He then all of a sudden disappears, next thing we know are basement has been broken into and our boilers been sabotaged!" Abbie continued

Becca folded her arms "Ugh, which means it was probably him who reported it to health and safety"

Abbie rolled her eyes "This is all Tyler's fault! If he hadn't of brought Sebas-"

Before Abbie could even finish her sentence, Zack snapped back "Just because your talk didn't go to plan last night, you can't blame this on Tyler! It wasn't him who sabotaged the boiler!"

Mia looked between Abbie and Zack then back to Abbie again "Zack's right, it's not fair for you to blame Tyler. He didn't do this… I'm going to go and find Sebastian… I'm going to try and talk to him."

Everyone started to stand up and edge towards the door.  
Mia blocked the door "I think it would be better if I went alone"

The others stepped back and agreed amongst themselves.


	3. Chapter 3 - Friends and Foes

Mia stepped out into the cold. The fresh air brushed against her skin making her shiver. She took her keys out of her pocket and made her way to her car.

A sheet of ice that covered the car had made it increasingly difficult to gain access to the vehicle. Eventually Mia tugged hard enough and the door opened. She climbed inside and sat for a few moments.

Mia pushed the key into the ignition and turned it. The engine made a weak attempt at starting before going flat. She repeated this several times hoping the engine would turn over but nothing. A knock at the window got her attention.

Chris opened the car door holding out a pair of jump leads "Need some help?"

Mia raised an eyebrow, knowing his past records of car theft "Hmm…and I wonder why you learnt to jumpstart a car."

Chris smirked and winked at her "Well, at least I learnt _something_ useful in that time"

He went round to the front of the car and lifted the hood.

After a few minutes the engine turned over and the car was up and running.

Mia was about to pull of the drive as Chris hopped into the passenger side.

"You men, never listen. Do you?" She grinned

"Well thought I better had, y'know just in case the engine wouldn't start again. Personally, I can't imagine that Sebastian would even own a pair of jump leads yet alone how to use them" He replied

Mia nodded "Very true"

She pulled out her mobile and looked at the address that Becca had text her earlier on then entered it into the sat-nav.

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After a short drive they arrived at the address. Mia drove the car up a long lane that turned into a huge drive way. Just up from the drive way sat a large 10 bedroom detached house surrounded several area's of greenery.

"This place is huge" Mia gasped

Chris raised an eyebrow "And this is the student accommodation for the rich kids…"

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Mia left Chris in the car and went to knock on the front door of the house. As she entered the gates of the front garden, she notices a small pebbled path that lead round to the back of the house, which gate was left partially open. She followed the path around and saw Sebastian sat on the side of a large water feature that was frozen over.

Sebastian looked up and noticed Mia approaching him "I hope you realize that you are trespassing on private property"

Mia stood with folded arms and a raised eyebrow which soon brought Sebastian to an awkward silence.

"Sebastian, I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm just here for some answers"

Sebastian shuffled awkwardly and avoided eye contact.

Mia took a deep breath "During the party last night someone had broken into our basement and purposely broke our boiler then reported the house to health and safety."

Sebastian remained silent still avoiding eye contact.

Mia snapped "If it was you, you need to tell me now!" She calmed herself before continuing "Please… there threatening to condemn the house and evict us. I…I really cannot afford to lose that house"

Sebastian face hardened "You'll just have to move back into your dorm"

Mia screwed her face up and threw a lump of snow at him angrily "You bastard! I can't move back into my dorm because it's not available and neither are any of the others! Even if I could, I can't because I…" Mia interrupted herself before she let her secret slip out of anger. "Actually I don't need to explain myself to you… I just can't!"

An expression of guilt spread over Sebastian's face "Oh… I-I didn't mean for you all to get evicted… I thought you'd just get a fine or something. I was talking to my Dad over the winter break about the problems between us… and he told me how to sabotage the boiler… You may have heard of Delacroix demolition and property development? I promise I had no idea that he was going to evict you…"

Mia sighed "Well he's demolished most of the houses in our area…we've got five days before the inspector is due"

Sebastian stuttered "If it's any help, I will organise a professional to come out and fix the boiler… I understand that I've got a long way to go before I am in your good books, especially now. I get angry and lash out, which I must learn to control. I hoped that this year would mean a fresh start"

Mia relaxed "That would be a great help…and your right, you have got a long way to go but…it's a start"

They both shook hands before departing and going their separate ways.

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Mia hopped back into the car and sighed.

"So, was it him?" Chris asked

"Yes-" Mia started but was quickly interrupted by Chris as he became agitated

"I knew it! The slimey little prick! Let me at him!" Chris went to open the car door in an attempt to find Sebastian himself.

"No you don't" Mia said as she locked the car doors.

Chris slumped back into his seat, face hardened.

Mia put her hand on his shoulder and turned to face him "He admitted to what he had done, which is all I wanted. He's also offered to pay for someone to fix the boiler."

Chris huffed "He's still got a bloody long way to go yet…"

Mia smiled back at him sweetly and spoke softly "I know but it's a start"

He smiled back at her. Something about her voice always managed to keep him calm. Little did Mia or any other of the housemates know but he had previously struggled with his temper, even before he fell into the wrong crowd at High school.  
Before starting at Hartfeld he completed an anger management course which helped a lot. Along side the football as well his issue's had almost vanished. It was only times like this, where people had deceived him he felt his anger rise to the surface.

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Later that day Mia made her way to the library to attend a meeting with Reyna, her new manager.

"Hey Mia" A voice called out from behind her.

As she turned around, James stood by the printer waving out to her. She walked over to greet him.

"Hiya, so? How's the TA job going?" She asked

He shrugged as he pressed a few buttons on the printer "Well, it's okay. Not as great as I hoped but it's a stepping stone in the right direction"

With that Mia felt her stomach suddenly cramp up again. She pierced her lips shut tightly and ran to the closest window. There was no way she was making it to the bathroom this time so throwing up out the window was the next best option.

"Uhh Mia, are you okay?" James asked as he approached the window. He handed her a tissue

Mia wiped her mouth with the tissue and slid herself onto the library floor behind a bookshelf still clenching her stomach. She looked up at James giving him a deflated but worried look.

James immediately noticed her clenching her stomach "This isn't a sickness bug, is it?"

Mia looked to floor and shook her head.

James lowered himself to the floor also and put his hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her "Oh Mia…How long have you known?"

Mia shrugged "About three weeks...but I don't know how far gone I am"

"Does Chris know?" He asked

Mia shook her head "and you're not going to tell him."

James raised his eyebrows which lead to a sarcastic remark "Nope because he's totally not going to eventually notice your expanding stomach…"

Mia gave a disapproving look "I mean that I'm not ready to tell him _yet_ "

James sighed "I get that it's up to you when you decide to tell people but he's the child's father, he deserves to know before anyone else"

Mia's face softened "I know and he will…It's just that with everything going on with the house as well, I just don't think now's a good time to drop the bombshell on him"

"What's happened with the house?" He asked

Mia spent a few minutes filling James in on the events from the party and that morning.

James spent a few moments in thought "You know…there may be a loop hole in that"

Mia all of a sudden became more attentive to what he was saying "Carry on…"

James continued "You being pregnant may and I stress _may_ give you an advantage. I could be wrong but I don't think they are able to make a pregnant woman homeless… If your house truly is not safe enough for you to live in they would have to re-house you."

"Really?" Mia asked surprised

James smiled "As I said, I'm not 100% sure but it's definitely something you should look into…Listen, it sounds like you've got a lot on your plate at the moment. I'll speak to Reyna about allowing you to have some time off the newspaper to come to terms with everything. Obviously I won't say anything regarding your pregnancy but just that you're stressed about the house"

Mia beamed and pulled James into a hug "Thanks James, you're the best. Plus thank you for keeping my secret a secret"

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When Mia arrived back at the house that evening she sat at the dining table on her laptop searching various laws and regulations in hope that she would come across one where she could use her pregnancy against Delacroix Demolitions and Property Developments…


	4. Chapter 4 - For a better day

A few days passed by, Mia heard her phone buzz. She quickly shut the laptop lid and opened up the text message.

Zig: _Hey. Meet me by fountain on campus. I wanna talk about the other night with Manny…ASAP_

Mia shrugged. She jumped down from the dining room table and grabbed her coat from the old coat rack. As she headed for the front door Chris walked through.

"Hey, where are you off too?" He asked as he dropped his gym bag onto the floor next to the door.

"Zig wants to talk about something. It's nothing major. I'll be back in time for the inspection" Mia smiled

Chris planted a kiss on her forehead "Ah okay. Listen after the inspection, I'm going to head out and meet Darren and Logan for a few drinks. Make sure a key is left under the door mat so I can get back in"

Mia nodded "Sure thing" before heading out of the door.

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The walk felt longer than normal. The cold air burnt her face as she made her way to the campus. It was crazy to think that in less than a year's time she could be doing this walk whilst pushing along a pram. She went into a day dream as she walked thinking about the possibilities of her unborn child. Would she have a boy or a girl? What would they look like?  
Even though she was petrified by the prospect of becoming a young mother she couldn't help but be a little excited.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. Mia turned around to find herself face to face with James.

She smiled "Hi, how are you?"

"I'm good, how are you doing with, you know…everything?" He asked

Mia scratched her head "Well, the inspector is coming out this afternoon to evaluate the house so fingers crossed"

James rolled his eyes "Have you told Chris yet?"

Her face dropped as she sighed "No…not yet"

James raised an eye brow and folded his arms "You have to tell him, Mia. It's not fair."

Mia sighed "Fine…I'll talk to him after the inspection later…"

James smiled at her softly "It will be one less thing on your chest… He loves you Mia, he'll stick by you."

Mia smiled weakly back "Thanks James…I'll let you know how it goes."

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Mia approached Zig who was patiently sat waiting near the fountain.

"Hey, so what's up?" She asked

Zig shrugged "I'm still not comfortable with what happened with Manny at the party."

Mia took a seat next to him "I don't blame you… I'm still not happy about what he did either."

"It's a difficult situation..." Zig paused before continuing "I now get why he is so angry and over-masculine because I was the same whilst I was getting to know who I was… He's trying to fight it."

Mia sighed "But it's not an excuse for what he did… He might be trying to fight his sexuality but he still has his self control."

Zig stood up and lit a cigarette "I know and I get that there is no excuse for what he did but I do sympathise with him a little. He's going through a hard time…part of me wants to _try_ and talk to him"

"I've got a bit of time…Why don't we try and find him?" She suggested.

Zig took one last drag on his cigarette before tossing it onto the floor "Fuck it…let's go find him"

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Zig and Mia both walked into the changing rooms for the football team. The surrounding smell of sweat was potent. Mia scrunched her nose up as the smell hit her. As they walked around to the lockers they found Manny sat alone on one of the benches.

As Manny heard the approaching foot steps he quickly turned around. Becoming defensive as soon as he saw who was approaching. "What do you want, Twig? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Zig rolled his eyes "You don't look particularly busy…sat in the locker room although training finished over an hour ago…"

Manny stayed quite until he noticed Mia stood behind Zig. He snorted and balled his fists "Why's Chris's bitch here? You going to gang up on me?"

Mia restrained from biting back at Manny's derogative comment. She took a deep breath "No, we just want to have a talk…hopefully a friendly, helpful one"

Zig continued to try and calm Manny down and attempt to talk to him about what he may be going through. Although, it only seemed to agitate him more.

"You know what I really think? I think that I should stop listening to your droning bull-shit! I don't need a pep talk especially from you! I am not bi or gay or anything else! You're just a creep"

Zig shook his head "I'm trying to help?"

Manny stood up and squared up to Zig "Piss off!"

Mia finally snapped, grabbing Manny's shoulder and pulling him back "What the hell is the matter with you? You're such a jerk! You apologise to Zig now!"

Manny smirked "Why, what are you going to do?"

She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow whilst calming her voice "It would be a shame if you had to be kicked of the football team wouldn't it?"

Manny gritted his teeth and shot a look towards Zig "Fine. I'm sorry"

He then span back round to Mia, looking down at her. "As for you… you're just another football slag. The way you flaunt around in your dresses looking for attention. The only reason your attitude is so bad towards me is because you want to sleep with me and I'm not interested. "

Mia just stared at him gob smacked. With that Manny turned his back and began to walk away.

She looked over at Zig "I always knew he was a jerk but this guy is god damn delusional?! Like I'd _never ever_ want to sleep with him, even if he was the last guy on this planet and the survival of the human race depended on it"

Zig laughed "Don't let it get to you _._ "

Mia shook her head in disbelief "Well…we tried."

Zig looked down at his watch "Shit… My dance try out starts in ten minutes"

"Oh yeah I forgot that you were going to give dance ago. Well good luck! I've gotta shoot anyway for the inspection."

Mia gave Zig a quick hug before quickly exiting the football changing room.

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Chris sat in the living room, whilst he waited for the inspector to arrive. It was a worrying time. Today was the make or break. He could help but wonder if there was anything more he could do. With that he went into the dining room and opened up the laptop to search up on how to quickly fix the loose front step. Of course, as he opened the laptop the webpage that came up was the official site of laws and regulations on pregnancy.

Chris looked at the page confused "Huh?" he shook his head and mumbled to himself "Bound to be Becca…"

With that Mia came through the front door. She saw Chris on the laptop and panicked slightly. Oh no…this wasn't how he was supposed to find out…Maybe he didn't read it? "Uhh, what are you looking at?"

Chris looked up and gave a small smile "I'm going to try and fix the front step before the inspector arrives. It'll be one less thing on the list."

Mia walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She smiled and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "I love you"

Chris paused and turned to face her. He smiled back at her as he gazed into her eyes and pulled her into a tender kiss "I love you too."

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Two hours later the inspector had completed his inspection and handed Zack the list of problems.

"There are a lot of issues here but I don't believe it quite warrants for you all to be evicted. I will be coming back in a month's time to inspect the house again. By then all the issue's on that list must be fixed" The inspector stated.

Kaitlyn sighed "That's great and all but we're students… there's no way we can afford to fix all these issues in a month?"

The inspector scratched his head "Look, you all seem like great kids… If you can fix what you can yourselves, I can try and get you a discount on the remaining issues that need looking at"

Zack smiled "Wow thanks…I'll get working on it right away. It was nice to meet you"

After everyone said there goodbyes to the inspector a breeze of relief flowed through the house.

"Oh thank goodness for that. I thought for a moment I was going to have to move back into a dorm" Becca sighed with relief.

Chris put his arm around Mia and kissed her forehead "I'm going to start getting ready to meet Darren and Logan."

As Chris jogged up the stares, Mia's phone buzzed. She opened the message

 _James: Have you told him yet? How did it go?_

Mia rolled her eyes. She still didn't feel ready to tell Chris but she knew James would only keep giving her pep talks on how it was unfair. For now, the best solution seemed for her to lie to James.

 _Hi James, yes, I've told him. All is good_ _J_

She put her phone back into her pocket and went upstairs to lie down.

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Later that night Chris walked into one of the bars along side Darren and Logan. The mood lighting and strong smell of alcohol set the mood perfectly. The trio bought there drinks and sat down in a nearby booth.

"It's been too long, man" Darren stated as he sipped his beer

"How are things going back here at Hartfeld?" He later asked

Chris downed that last part of his beer before answering "Yeah things are going well. The football teams going good."

Logan laughed "Dude, we know the football's doing well. What about on the girl front? You know, how's Mia? How is it living with your Ex and your current girlfriend? What about the sex?"

Darren nodded his head in agreement.

Chris scratched his head "Mia's good. Living with Becca hasn't been an issue… without sounding harsh I never really had feelings for her so it wasn't a big deal…"

Logan put his hand on Chris's shoulder "I believe you are avoiding the last question"

Chris smirked taking a sip from his bottle "It's good. The sex is good but that's all you're getting out of me. I don't kiss and tell."

Logan elbowed him playfully and winked "So no Becca/Mia threesomes then?"

Chris almost spat out his drink "No, definitely not. I'm a one gal guy"

Logan laughed "Coming from the same guy who was hooking up with Mia, whilst dating Becca?"

Chris directed the conversation towards Darren instead of responding "So how's Amara?"

Logan began to laugh which started the other two off.

Darren composed himself "Yeah she's good, we're thinking of getting our own place together next year when she's finished college."

"Fair play, mate" Chris said as he raised his bottle.

The three of them clinked bottles and slumped back into there seats as they took a sip. Chris suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.

He looked around slightly startled "Oh, hey James?"

James held his hand out "I'm with a few of my work colleagues and saw you over here. I thought, I'd come over to congratulate you."

Chris shook his hand loosely with a confused expression on his face. "Uhh thanks?"

James tilted his head slightly "You look a little perplexed?"

Chris furrowed his brow as he took another sip of his beer "I'm not going to lie, I am a little confused… then again it could just be the beer hitting me"

James smiled "It's fine, Mia's told me. You're going to make a great Dad"

This time Chris did spit his drink out. He looked at James wide eyed "I'm sorry, what?"

Logan and Darren exchanged a look but remained silent.

James face dropped immediately as he realised what he had just done "She told me that you knew?"

Chris remained wide eyed with his mouth ajar "Mia's pregnant!?"

James scratched his head "Well, this has got awkward…I see you and Mia have a lot to catch up on. I'll leave you too it. I'm sorry you had to find out this way"

James quickly hurried away to rejoin his work colleagues on the other side of the bar.

Logan kissed his teeth "Shit dude, I take it the sex was a bit more than just good"

Chris and Darren both shot him a sharp look which soon shut him up.

"Fuck man, this is big. Really big" Chris sighed and put his face in his hands.

Darren put his beer on the table "Okay, so you had no idea?"

Chris lifted his head from his hands but remained to stare at the table "No, nothing… why didn't she tell me?"

Neither Darren nor Logan responded.

Chris rubbed his temples, "I mean, I wanted to have kids eventually… but not now"

Darren caught Chris's eye contact "Do you love her?"

"I mean, I'm really mad with her right now but yes, of course I do."

Darren smiled "As long as you truly love her, you'll be fine."

Chris slammed his beer on the table and grabbed his coat, his face filling with anger "I need to go and speak to her. She should have told me before telling anyone"

Darren eye's widened "Mate, you've been drinking. You're a little drunk, confused and angry. I don't think you should talk to her about it now. Just sit back down and we'll get you some water. Discuss it with her tomorrow"

Chris refused to even acknowledge Darren's voice and continued to put on his coat. He stormed out of the bar and into the night…


	5. Chapter 5 - No more secrets

As the night progressed, the trees, the ground and buildings were layered with a fine blanket of frost. The walk home gave Chris a little time to clear his head. He tried to bury his anger but too many beers, emotions and questions span around in his head. Why didn't she tell him?

Soon the house was in sight. The closer to the house he got, the more agitated he felt.

He opened the door and all of the house mates where sat around the TV apart from Mia.

Kaitlyn looked up as she noticed him stood in the door way "You're back early…and looking slightly worse for wear. Everything okay?"

Chris kept his face straight only very slightly gritting his teeth "Where's Mia?"

Abbie furrowed her eyebrow and pointed towards the stair case "She mentioned that she was feeling a little under the weather and went up for an early night?"

Chris scoffed as he shook his head "Of course, she's _under the weather_ "

Everyone exchanged a confused look as Chris headed upstairs.

"What was all that about?" Zack asked

Becca shrugged "Who knows."

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Chris burst through Mia's bedroom door, flicking on the light.  
Mia rubbed her eyes as she began to stir from her sleep. As she opened them she could see Chris stood looking out of the window.

"Everything okay?" She asked whilst stretching her arms.

Chris turned to face her, his brow furrowed "I don't know… Is there something you may have _forgotten_ to tell me?"

Mia had a feeling she knew what he was talking about but decided it was better to play dumb to it. After all, it was rare that Chris and James spoke, right? It could be anything.

Mia tried her best to pull off the best confused face she could.

Chris chuckled to himself as he shook his head in disbelief "You're unbelievable, did you know that?"

Mia broke eye contact and looked towards the floor, holding her breath slightly.

"So it's true then?" Chris snapped.

Mia remained to avoid eye contact "Please don't be mad"

Chris found himself becoming more agitated as he paced up and down the room "So what, were you just going to hope I wouldn't notice? Tell everyone but me?"

Mia's eyes began to well "No, it's not like that."

His eyes narrowed towards her "Really? It sure feels like it? My own girlfriend is pregnant and she didn't even tell me…This isn't something small that's going to go away, Mia!"

Tears rolled down her cheeks "I-I know"

He put his hand over his forehead "So why didn't you tell me?"

She wiped her eyes "I'm scared, Chris. I was scared that you'd leave. I was going to tell you but now didn't seem like the right time"

Chris rolled his eyes "But you were able to tell James? Who else knows?"

Mia found herself fiddling with her duvet "I didn't tell James, he guessed when I randomly was sick in the library… I've not told anyone else"

Chris sighed and shrugged "How far gone are you? How long have you known?"

She put her face in her hands "I've known for about a month…I don't know how far gone I am" She paused before snapping "I'm not getting rid of it, Chris!"

Chris let out another sigh and sat next to her on the bed "I'm not telling you to do anything. Not going to lie, I'm pretty scared too…"

There were a few moment of silence as they both stared into thin air, allowing themselves to calm down.

Mia sniffled "I understand if you don't want any part of this… If you want to leave, it's fine"

Chris snapped out of his daydream, his brow furrowed. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head "I'm not going anywhere. I know what it's like to grow up with out a Dad and I've always promised that I'd never put any child of mine through that. We're doing this one together…"

Mia looked up and smiled at him weakly "I guess the next step would be to find out how long we've got left before we become a family"

Chris smiled back "I guess so… We'll go and speak to the College nurse tomorrow"

He went to stand up and leave her room when she grabbed his wrist "Please stay?"

He looked down at her, the sparkle in her eye had finally returned. He climbed onto the bed to lie down next to her. Mia curled up by his side and rested her head on his chest pulling the quilt over them both. Chris rested his hand on her stomach and smiled sweetly at her before they both fell into a sleep.


	6. Chapter 6 - Too good

The bright rays of the morning sun shone through the window, piercing through the small gap between the curtains leaving a shine over Mia's silk quilt. Chris leant on his side and began to stroke Mia's hair. She looked so beautiful and peaceful as the suns rays lit up her face. Slowly her eyes fluttered open, she smiled as she saw Chris looking over her, he smiled back at her softly.

Chris leant in closer and left a kiss on her forehead "Good morning"

It was moments like these that Mia cherished. Those uninterrupted moments alone she had with Chris, where she felt at peace.

She smiled sweetly "Good morning"

Chris's eyes diverted down to her stomach, the corner of his mouth turned upwards.

Mia's smile weakened "You're still mad aren't you?"

He shrugged "Not mad…just a little disappointed that the news didn't come from you" he paused for a few moments before continuing "I'm sorry about last night… I should have been more understanding. It was just that it came totally unexpected and I didn't really know how to react"

Mia sighed "But I should have told you"

Chris took her hand in his "Look, lets just forget about it"

She sat up and pulled him into a hug that lasted a few moments.

"Hey, I was going to see the college nurse this morning and tell her… are you around?"

Chris reached over for his mobile to open up his rota "Damn it… I've got classes starting in 45 minutes… I could always skip them though?"

Mia shook her head "No, it's okay. You go to your classes. I'll meet you after you finish."

They both jumped up out of bed and began getting ready for the day.

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Chris gave Mia a quick kiss on the cheek before he left the house.

A grin spread across her face as she turned to walk towards the kitchen.

Kaitlyn and Becca both looked up.

"You sure seem happy this morning?" Kaitlyn questioned with a suspicious look on her face.

Mia paused "Can a girl not wake up in a good mood on a morning?"

Becca shrugged "It's just that Chris came in last night looking pretty pissed off and then the shouting coming from you room?"

Mia waved her hand "Oh that…that was nothing. How much did you hear?"

"Not a lot really, it was difficult to make out the words from downstairs?" Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow

Mia took in a deep breath and clapped her hands together "Anyway, I've gotta shoot. Catch you guys later"

She grabbed her coat off the hook and headed towards the door.

Becca looked towards Kaitlyn " I really do not understand them like they blatantly had a row last night yet they were more loved up than normal this morning? If I was one of them, I'd be pissed off for days"

Kaitlyn shrugged "Maybe they were just having rough-"

Becca interrupted "Ew…okay that's enough Kaitlyn"

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Mia walked down a long corridor until she saw the room named 'Nurse Jones'. She cautiously entered the nurse's office. A petite lady with short red hair stood with a slightly startled look across her face.

Mia raised an eyebrow "Ms Twombly?

"Oh, Hi Mia? Oh no your not here for an appointment are you? I thought I let everyone know that Nurse Jones was of sick." She replied

Mia began to fidget a little "No Ms…I just dropped in."

Ms Twombly looked concerned "Is it important?"

Mia nodded with a nervous expression across her face.

Ms Twombly scrambled over to a set of chairs and indicated for Mia to take a seat next to her. "I will try and see if I can help"

Mia looked around awkwardly fiddling with her hands "I…I'm pregnant"

Ms Twombly's mouth gaped open "Ah, not prepared for that"

Mia nodded "I was kind of hoping to see if I could be referred to a midwife?"

Ms Twombly placed her hand on Mia's shoulder "Don't worry, I'll let Nurse Jones know today" Her face then turned into some sort of excitement "Aw young love… I mean assuming your still with Chris?"

Mia nodded "Uh-huh"

Ms Twombly did some form of excited jazz hands "Aww how exciting. Don't worry I'll keep this totally confidential"

Mia smiled "Thank you"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mia strolled through the campus and met Chris down by the fountain.

"How did it go?" He asked impatiently

Mia gave an awkward smile as she closer approached him "Oh my goodness! I had to speak to Twombly as the Nurse was not in. It was so awkward"

Chris chuckled "So what happens now?"

She shrugged "I've got to be referred to a Midwife so I've just got to wait for an email stating an appointment time."

Chris smiled as he handed Mia a pink envelope.  
Mia paused looking at the envelope looking confused "What's this?"

He rolled his eyes "What's the date today?"

Mia looked confused "uh January the 16th?" She suddenly realised "Oh my, January the 16th! That's our anniversary! I'm so sorry with everything going on it completely slipped my mind"

Chris laughed as he watched her panick "And it's usually the guys at fault for forgetting special dates. You're getting baby brain already"

Chris wrapped her in a tight embrace before pulling back "Actually, I've got a little something planned" He grabbed her hand and began to walk "Come with me, I'll drive you there."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chris pulled into a Mini golf course.

Mia burst out the care "Omg! Mini golf"

The couple walked over to the course stand to collect there clubs and balls.

Mia playfully nudged Chris and winked "Loser buys dinner"

He rubbed his hands together "Can't think of anything better now than a _free_ sirloin steak with fries"

The pair remained to tease each other as they moved up through the levels of the course.

 _An hour later…._

"Woo hole in one" Mia called out as she potted the ball

Chris grabbed her waist and pulled her close "Well it looks like the hand-eye coordination involved in football doesn't translate into golf"

Mia looked up at him seductively "Well, you have many other talents that I prefer"

She stood on her tipy toes and kissed him. Chris continued to hold her close deepening the kiss.

An older woman soon interrupted them "Ugh, can you please move along?"

Mia turned round to see the rest of the ladies family a few holes behind "But you're not anywhere near us?"

The lady stood authoritively with hands on her hips "What are you truants doing out here anyway? High School doesn't let out yet."

Mia became defensive almost immediately "Excuse me?"

Chris moved over and put a protective arm around Mia's waist "Actually, me and my _wife_ are very important people in the area."

Mia played along "Yes, we work for the council full time whilst bringing up our son Wallace…"

"And Echinda whilst expecting our third child" Chris added placing a hand over Mia's stomach.

The womans face softened "Oh I'm ever so sorry, you just look so young…"

Mia fake smiled "Good genes I guess"

The women nodded suspiciously and turned to rejoin her family.

The couple burst into laughter as the woman was out of ears reach.

"I can't believe you named our son Echinda?"

Chris laughed "Our daughter actually"

Mia's looked at Chris with a sweet smile "If we end up having a daughter, Echinda can be her middle name… and if she ever asks why. We'll tell her this story."

Chris laughed and pulled her close " And if it's a boy… his middle name will be Wallace and we will tell him the same"


	7. Chapter 7 - Power of love

Later that evening Chris had taken Mia to a spot on the cliffs that surrounded the edge Hartford, which showed a magnificent view of the city. The pair laid out on a heap of quilts amongst the blanket of snow. The city lit up as the sun began to set behind the horizon.

"It's beautiful up here" Mia gasped as she took in the view.

Chris smiled softly "It is beautiful, especially on nights like these... I come here to clear my head sometimes. I've never seen anyone else here."

The pair sat back and continued to watch the sun slowly descend down the sky. After a few moments Chris turned his head to watch Mia, the corners of his lips turning ever so slightly.

It took a small while but Mia eventually caught his gaze. She smiled cautiously "Why are you looking at me like that?"

His slight turn of the lip quickly turned to a full smile. He cupped Mia's cheek with one of his hands "I was just thinking about how crazy this all is… I mean it was only just over a year ago that I was apologising for knocking you over…"

Mia laughed "You sure swept me off my feet…in more ways than one!"

He chuckled before continuing "and now look at us… In our own house, our first anniversary and our first child on the way… It's just, wow"

She snuggled her self closer to Chris "So much has happened in the last year but it feels right"

Chris continued to smile as he leant down to kiss her "It definitely does"

The kiss became more passionate as Chris gently pushed Mia to lie back on the quilt, he climbed over the top of her, wrapping the blankets around them, their lips not parting.

It was not long before their clothing were left heaped on the corner of the quilt as they both lead entangled in each other under the blankets.

Chris winked as he moved to lie down next to her "Well at least I don't have to worry about you getting pregnant for the next few months"

Mia laughed sarcastically as she rubbed her hand over her abdomen. She paused and lightly pressed her hand down on a specific part of her stomach. She reached over and grabbed Chris's hand, placing it over the same part of her stomach she was just pressing. "This area has been getting harder and harder..."

Chris carefully pressed the area of her abdomen and nodded in agreement.

Mia smiled "I guess that's the start of my bump."

Chris smiled "Our little baby is slowly growing."

She looked up thoughtfully "I guess it's too early to tell but I have a gut feeling that it's going to be a little boy"

Chris reached over to his coat pocket and pulled out an old piece of twine. "Mia, give me your ring?"

She looked at him confused as she removed the small ring she wore on her right index finger and handed it over to him.

He tied the ring to the piece of twine "Now lay back"

Mia did as she was told and lied back down. He dangled the ring from the piece of twine over her stomach. The ring swag backwards and forwards before Chris handed her the ring back.

She raised an eyebrow "What was all that about?"

Chris smiled "It's what my Gran once told me…apparently that's how they used to determine the gender before technology came about"

Mia smiled "So what can you determine Dr Powell?"

He laughed before composing himself "The ring swag backwards and forwards instead of in circles which means we're going to have a little girl"

Mia raised an eyebrow but with a smile of her face "I think I'm going to stick with my Motherly gut instinct and still say little boy"

Chris winked "We'll see…"

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Chris and Mia arrived back at the house later that night. Zack and the inspector stood on the porch pointing at the roof.

Chris headed on inside as Mia stayed to chat.

She looked over at the inspector "Hi, sorry I didn't catch your name at the last inspection"

The inspector smiled and held out his hand. "Hi again, Mia. My names Grant"

Mia firmly shook his hand. "So what's the issue here?"

Grant shrugged " I just came around to see how the repairs were coming along, see if there was anything at all I could help with but it seems like Zack here, has pretty much everything covered"

Mia nodded "Brilliant, Zack's quite the handy man you know"

Zack fake flicked the non existent hair over his shoulder, Becca style "Well what can I say"

The three of them laughed before Grant changed the subject "Hey Zack, I take it that you're not from this area? There's a museum open in town, apparently they have a large collection of architecture from different eras. I thought it would be cool for us to go along one day and take a look?"

Zack smiled confidently "Yeah, sure we'll arrange a day… How about we go inside. Getting a bit chilly stood out here"

Grant walked on inside whilst Mia grabbed Zack's shoulder "Ooo can I sense a date?"

Zack shook his head "No… this is a friend only day trip. I have promised myself to focus more on my friendships and studies rather that relationships this year"

Mia nodded unconvinced as she too walked on inside "What ever you say Zachary"

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As Mia entered the house Kaitlyn looked up "Where have you been all afternoon?"

Mia smiled "It was mine and Chris's anniversary so we went out for the afternoon, bit of mini golf and then watched the sun set."

Kaitlyn beamed as she pulled Mia into a hug "Oh my gosh that's cute. Happy anniversary guys!"

"Thanks Kaitlyn"

Kaitlyn pulled back as a light bulb moment hit her "I'm going to make you guys…and everyone else dinner"

She quickly scurried away into the kitchen calling out to Abbie "Abbie! Come help me make a special dinner!"

Abbie soon followed her out and before long the sides were piled with various items of food.

Chris reached up pulling Mia onto his lap as he sat on the settee. He whispered into her ear "When are you planning on telling them and our parents?"

Mia turned to whisper back into his ear "I want to wait until the first scan is done just so we know that everything is going as it should. Once that's done then I'd feel more comfortable telling everyone"

Chris smiled "Sure thing. That's understandable. Not going to lie, I'm terrified about how my Mom's going to react"

Mia grimaced "My Dad's going to kill me"

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After around an hour Kaitlyn called out from the kitchen "Dinner is served!"

The house mates wandered out into the kitchen where a buffet styled feast was spread out across the dining table.

Kaitlyn beamed "Well… what are you waiting for? Dig in!"

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"This is amazing, Kaitlyn" Zack stated as he popped another mini pepperoni pizza into his mouth.

Becca nodded "It's not quite caviar but this food is pretty nice"

Grant held a toast "Compliments to the chef's"

The rest of the house mates clinked there glasses together before Grant continued "Thank you for inviting me for dinner tonight, it was really nice of you all"

Zack smiled " Well, we're a friendly bunch."

As the rest of the house mates continued to participate in the dinner time chit-chat, Mia's attention was diverted to the email that had appeared on her phone.

 _'_ _Dear Miss Treswell,_

 _West Hartford Maternity unit has received a referral for you. We have scheduled you in for a Midwife appointment on Tuesday 30_ _th_ _January at 11:00 am with one of our nurses, Nurse Calder._

 _If you are unable to make this appointment, please be sure to let us know via the telephone number below…'_

She smiled as she read it, subtly nudging Chris to get his attention. He read the email over her shoulder and kissed the side of her face.

Abbie's brow furrowed slightly looking between Mia and Chris "Why are you too suddenly looking even happier than you did two seconds ago"

Chris suddenly gave the first excuse that came to his head "Uh. Mia's mom's… goldfish… had babies"

Abbie nodded with a suspicious look on her face "Riiight…"


	8. Chapter 8 - 30th January

Before long, Tuesday the 30th of January had arrived. Mia was awoken by the ringing of her alarm clock that was set for 07:30 am. She stretched her arms as she slowly sat up, a customising her eyes to the day light.

She reached over for her dressing gown before climbing out of her bed. Her mobile phone pinged with her reminders for the day '11:00am – Midwife, 20:00pm – Book launch'. Mia smiled at the thought of the exciting day a head.

A knock sounded from the other side of the bedroom door.

"Who is it?" She asked inquisitively.

Her door opened slightly and Chris peered through, " I was just checking that you were up"

Mia smiled "A little excited are we?"

Chris made his way into her room, quietly shutting the door behind him. He turned around and gave her a wink "Maybe"

He walked over to her and leaned in for a kiss.  
After a few seconds Mia pulled back, looking up at him with a grin on her face "We best start getting ready then, wouldn't want to be late"

Chris gave her a final kiss on her forehead before exiting her room.

Mia walked over to her closet. Although she was excited by her first appointment with the mid wife, she was nervous. She felt like she had to give off a mature, grown up impression rather than the expected young Mom look. She spent a few moments scanning through the items in her closet before settling on a white turtle neck top with a grey fur waist coat that matched perfectly with a pair of back skinny jeans and a pair of leather Chelsea boots.

She looked at herself in the mirror once she was fully dressed and her hair and make up was complete, "I hope I look Mom-to-be enough"

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Mia made her way down stairs to join Chris in the kitchen for breakfast. He grinned as he noticed her walking towards him "I'm liking your look"

Mia smiled "Thanks, I just want to give a good impression today so less make-up, hair straightened and styled, and clothes tidy but not revealing"

Chris chuckled "Well, I think you look beautiful" he passed her over a plate "Here, I made you some toast"

The pair sat down at the dining table to eat there toast and talk quietly about the day ahead. There conversation was cut short as Becca slowly descended down the stairs. She tiredly entered the kitchen rubbing her eyes, she paused and looked confused as she noticed Chris and Mia up and dressed already.

"Why are you two up already? It's 08:30am, I swear neither of you have classes until later this afternoon?" Becca asked.

Both Chris and Mia paused as they thought of a good response.

Mia took a deep breathe "Uhhh I have some stuff I need to sort out before my book launch tonight and Reyna wanted to interview Chris…Something about student body president…"

Becca nodded blankly then shrugged and walked over to the fridge "Y'know, you two have been acting kinda shady the past few weeks"

Mia laughed nervously "No, nothing shady going on here"

Becca narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she exited the kitchen with a glass of milk.

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Later that morning Mia and Chris sat side by side in the waiting room at the hospital. Mia slipped her hand into his and squeezed as they waited for her name to be called out. Chris squeezed back and smiled sweetly at her.

"Miss Mia Treswell?" A voice called out from down the corridor, mere seconds later a middle aged lady wearing a blue tunic peered out from the end of the corridor.

Mia and Chris both stood up and made there way over to the lady stood at the end of the corridor.

She smiled as they approached "Hello, I am Nurse Calder. Please, follow me"

Nurse Calder walked on in front with Mia and Chris following closely behind. She led the couple into a fair sized room and sat them down.

Nurse Calder scanned through her notes on her computer before turning towards Mia. "So today it seems like we will be finding out how far along you are."

Mia nodded nervously as she grasped onto Chris's hand.

The nurse turned her attention to Chris "And you are Miss Treswell's partner?"

"Uh, yes" He responded.

She smiled "Very well, so I will start with explaining what we will be doing today. So I will ask Mia to lie down onto the hospital bed and expose her stomach so I will be able to perform the ultrasound. We should then be able to see the foetus on the screen. I will then measure the foetus which should indicate how far along in the pregnancy you are. After that I will do a few more checks to ensure that your baby is growing and developing as he or she should be. Finally, as you are first time parents and are too fairly young, I would like to discuss a few matters with you"

Mia and Chris both nodded without saying a word.

The nurse smile enthusiastically "Brilliant! Let's get started then"

She gestured towards the hospital bed. Mia stood up from her chair, climbed onto the bed and rolled up her top to expose her stomach. Chris moved his chair so he was sat next to her and in view of the ultrasound screen.

The nurse put on a pair of disposable gloved and gently felt Mia's abdomen, "So you may have noticed already but your lower abdomen has started to firm, this will then eventually form into your bump"

"So does the firmness of her stomach indicate how far she is?" Chris asked.

"It's difficult to say as different women start to show at different points throughout there pregnancy depending on their fitness, body type and many more factors. But the fact that the abdomen has started to firm does indicate that Mia is at least a month gone."

He nodded and squeezed Mia's hand. The nurse proceeded to rub a gel over Mia's stomach before starting the ultrasound.

After a few moments of intensely staring at the screen, a small figure appeared on the screen with a pulsating centre.

Nurse Calder smiled "And there's your baby, you can see it's little heart beating away"

Both Mia and Chris stared in awe at the screen whilst squeezing onto each others hands.

A huge smile spread over Mia's face "I can see its little head and legs"

Nurse Calder took a closer look at the screen studying it carefully as well as using a heart beat Doppler to check the foetus's heartbeat. "Well, you baby is currently the size of a cherry and seems to be healthy. By looking at this, I'd like to say that you are around 9 weeks pregnant. I do need to check though to be certain"

Mia nodded as Chris was sizing up the size of a cherry with his fingers.

The nurse sat back down at her computer and looked up at Mia "To get a more accurate due date, I will need to know when your last Menstrual Period was?"

Mia's brow furrowed as she tried to remember a date "Umm it was around the end of November… the 24th?"

The nurse tapped away at the computer before looking up with a smile on her face "So what I have done is added seven days on to that date which gave me the 1st December and then counted on 9 months from then, which means your due date will be around the 1st September. This also means that I can confirm that you are 8 weeks and 4 days pregnant."

Both Mia and Chris faces lit up with a relieved smile.

Mia looked back over to the screen with a softer smile "Just 7 months to go"

Nurse Calder's smile then turned to a more worried expression. "Now this leads me onto the final bit of our appointment today…"

Mia jumped down from the bed and back into one of the chair and Chris moved hs chair back to where it was. The pair leaned in to engage in the conversation.

Nurse Calder took in a deep breath "Now, Mia. I am not here to force you into any decision but just to make you aware of a few facts… You are both a considerably young couple, College students, yes?"

The pair nodded as Nurse Calder continued "Having a child in the US is not something that is free. The midwife appointments and even giving birth as well as the upkeep of the baby afterwards is financially expensive and is something that you as a couple will need to be prepared for. In this state an uncomplicated birth can cost around $6000.00. Even if you have insurance, you will need to pay this amount before you can claim anything back. Not only is there the financial side but also the stress factor of having a baby whilst being at College… Which leads me to my final statement, I am not going to push you down any route but I am just making you aware that abortions are still an option."

Mia frowned "No way, I am keeping my baby"

Chris wrapped his arm around her "Don't worry, we'll find a way to be able to afford this…"


	9. Chapter 9 - Babies and book launches

The pair sat quietly in Chris's car for a short while as they took in everything from the appointment they had just attended.

"I didn't realise how much this was all going to cost… especially with the house as well… Do you think we can do it?" Mia sighed

Chris shrugged "I guess I could sell a kidney? Have you seen how much you can sell a kidney for?"

Mia folded her arms and gave him a stern look. Chris instantly recognised this look and completely understood that it wasn't her 'what a great idea' face.

He shrugged again "Or, we can think of another way?"

Mia smirked "I think I ought to sell your brain"

Chris grinned and playfully gave her a nudge before refocusing on the question "I mean, your book launch is tonight… Surely you'll get a certain percentage from the sales of the book, considering you wrote a chunk of it?"

She nodded "Yeah, I get a percentage of the book sales… I guess that didn't cross my mind"

He put a comforting arm around her "We'll save that money up and I work something out as well"

Chris gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before igniting the engine and pulling away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that evening Mia sat alone, perched on the edge of her bed in her dressing gown. She took the small brown envelope that the nurse gave her from her coat pocket and opened it. She smiled as she flicked through each photo.

It all became so real, seeing the tiny life she helped create appear on the screen with Chris knelt down next to her. It really felt like they had become a small family, the three of them together.

Mia abruptly stopped her thoughts as a knock on the bedroom door interrupted her day dream. She quickly stuffed the photo's into her pillow case before answering the knock "Who is it?"

"It's your bestie!" Kaitlyn beamed as she flung the door open and plopped herself down next to Mia.

"Well, come on! Show me what you're wearing tonight?" She blurted as she impatiently wriggled around on the end of the bed.

Mia smiled sweetly as she walked over to her closet and pulled out a beautiful teal, silk evening dress "I thought this would suit the occasion quite nicely"

Kaitlyn's eyes lit up as she became even more excitable "Oh my gosh! You are going to look amazing! I'm so excited for you, like, you don't understand!"

She grinned widely "Thanks Kaitlyn, it means a lot to have your support. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little nervous"

Kaitlyn gave her a gentle nudge "You're going to rock it!.. Now, I should best leave you to glam up"

With that she skipped out of the room and back into hers. Mia followed her to the door and shut it behind her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later Mia stood in front of her mirror as she curled the final strands of her hair. She admired herself in the mirror, posing in different angles so she could properly see what the dress looked like on. She smiled as she turned around to the bed to tidy up her make up.

Suddenly a pair of hands unexpectedly grabbed her waist then pulled her back. Mia gasped, unaware of whom it was.

The pair of arms wrapped around her waist "Isn't my future wife looking stunning this evening."

She relaxed and softly smiled once she realised who it was behind her.  
"Future wife?" She asked innocently as she turned to face him, placing her arms around his waist.

Chris grinned and kissed the tip of her nose as she looked up to him "It sounds better than baby Momma, doesn't it?"

A large smile spread across her face " It definitely does"

He pulled her into a romantic kiss before holding out his hand "I believe, this is now the part where I escort you to the vehicle and take you to your special night"

Mia took his hand in hers "I believe so"

He lead her out of the house and into the car.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mia, the other house mates plus Zig and James entered into the large, elegant looking library.

Becca scrunched her nose up "All I can smell are old books"

"This place looks like the sort of place you'd see in a Harry Potter movie!" A familiar voice approached.

Mia's face lit up as she turned to see who it was "Aw Tyler, I'm so glad you made it"

Tyler smiled back "I wouldn't miss it for the world"

Tyler's eye's scanned through the group, until they set on Abbie.

She slammed her eyes and quietly sighed before walking off in another direction "I need a drink. Kaitlyn, Come with?"

His face dropped as he watched her walk away.  
Mia couldn't help but feel sorry for him, she placed a comforting hand onto his shoulder "Hey, she'll come round. You know what she's like…"

He nodded glumly "I guess… Anyway, this evening's about you so let's not think about this now"

She smiled softly at him as she patted his shoulder. With that she felt someone patting her own shoulder to get her attention. She spun around and Gabriella pulled her into an embrace.

"Well tonight is the big night" She nervously grinned.

Mia mimicked her expression "It is"

"Well, we better had get started" She said as she began to lead Mia over to a stand stacked with 'The Freshman' book.

The pair both took it in turns to read out their speeches, and paying there respects to the late Enrique Vasquez before commencing the meet and greet.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later and everyone were heading home. Mia, Chris, Kaitlyn and James all jumped into one car.

Mia looked back to the back seat where James was sat looking pleased with himself.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe that guy from Panda wants to work with us in the future!" She beamed excitedly.

James grinned back "I can't believe it either. I just began accepting the fact that I may never become a recognised writer…but this could be my second chance"

Kaitlyn enthusiastically started clapping her hands "I'm so excited for you guys!"

Chris placed his hand on Mia's thigh whilst keeping his eye's on the road "I'm proud of you"

She smiled sweetly placing a quick kiss on Chris's cheek "Thank you guys… I guess writing is my virtue"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back at the house everyone made themselves comfy in the living room, each taking their turn to congratulate Mia on her success at the book launch. Becca briefly disappeared into the kitchen then reappeared with a large bottle of Veuve Clicquot.

She waved it around above her head to gain everyone's attention.

Zack rubbed his hands together "About bloody time, I've been waiting all evening for the chance of some bubbly"

Zig nodded his head in agreement "You can say that again"

Becca poured the champagne into 8 glasses that were set out on the kitchen side. One by one she delivered them to each person. Becca approached Mia last and held out the glass for her to take.

Mia shuffled awkwardly in her seat "Uhh, not for me thank you"

Becca raised an eyebrow and put her free hand on her hip, "Mia, stop being a party pooper and take the champagne! We're toasting to you and your book thingy"

She looked at Becca nervously "I can't…"

Becca rolled her eye's "What do you mean you can't?"

Chris looked over to Mia after partially hearing their conversation. She looked back at him for reassurance before sighing and standing up. Becca furrowed her brow and looked suspiciously between both Chris and Mia.

Mia stood in the centre of the living area and tapped the empty champagne bottle with a spoon to catch everyone's attention.

"Um… Hi guys…" She started

Everyone looked at her with the same confused expression.

She carried on "I have a bit of an announcement to make. Well, actually me and Chris have an announcement to make…"

Suddenly all eyes moved to Chris. He smiled and stood up to join Mia, putting his hand around her waist.

"OMG your engaged!?" Kaitlyn beamed.

Mia shook her head "No…"

"You've split up, haven't you?" Becca asked raising her eyebrow.

Chris's eyebrow furrowed "What? No!"

Mia loosely clapped her hands with a nervous expression spreading over her face "We're having a baby!"

Zack spat his drink out all over the floor and dropped his glass "WHAT?"

Chris chuckled whilst awkwardly scratching his head "Yeah, that was also my reaction…"


	10. Chapter 10 - Support

A sudden silence fell upon the house. Each person slightly gaping their mouths at the news. Both Chris and Mia remained awkwardly stood in the centre of the living room. She made stern eye contact at James; who of course already knew.

James clapped his hands together and put a smile on his face "Congratulations to you both"

Zig smiled sweetly and raised his glass "To Mia and Chris"

Still in shock the other housemates soon joined in on the toast, each raising their glasses for the unborn baby.

Becca, however, did not join the toast. Instead she sat with a disgruntled expression.

"Really? A baby?" She scoffed

Mia noticed her unamused face "Yeah?"

"Mia, I get that I'm kind of the new comer here, but this isn't just _your_ house. There are other people living here as well" She snarled

Mia rolled her eyes "Yes, I'm fully aware of that"

Becca looked around at everyone sat in the room "Well, once this baby comes along, there won't be any more parties, silence at certain points of the day not to mention our study time being disturbed by a screaming child!"

Chris snapped "Hey! It's not like we've planned this, me and Mia are dealing with it the best we can!"

She narrowed her eyes at him and hissed "Yes, but it's going to affect all of us!"

With that Becca huffed and stormed upstairs which was shortly followed by a slammed door.

Once again everyone in the house was bought to an uncomfortable silence. Chris wrapped his arm around Mia to comfort her as she slumped her shoulders and let out a deflated sigh.

Zack also let out a small sigh "Hey, I'm happy for you guys, like, really I am… but what about the house? I mean, if we lose it… it just doesn't seem an ideal time for a baby"

Mia sat herself down into the armchair and rubbed her forehead "None of this is ideal, but it's happened and now I've got to deal with it… Believe me, this is not how I planned my college years would be…"

Kaitlyn scooted over to Mia's side and wrapped her arms around her "But no matter what, we're all going to be there to support you. Especially me because I'm your bestie and that's what bestie's are for"

Mia laughed quietly "Thanks, and for the record… I'm not going to turn this place into a discipline camp…"

Chris smiled "Come on, you know what Becca's like, a huge drama queen. Give it a day or two and she'll be fine."

The tension suddenly started to lift and individually everyone began to congratulate the couple on their future arrival.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After everyone had settled down and the focus had moved from Mia, Abbie called her into the kitchen. They both began to prepare some snacks for the evening before Abbie finally had her say.

"Wow, and there I was the other week thinking _I_ was pregnant"

Mia chuckled "Funny how things turned out, isn't it?"

Abbie grinned "So when did you find out?"

She finished emptying her bag of chips into a bowl with a sheepish look on her face "At the same time you found out you weren't pregnant…"

"What! No way! Why didn't you say anything?" Abbie gasped

Mia looked down fiddling with a chip that had fallen out from the bowel and onto the counter "I guess I was scared" she paused for a few moments "I only told Chris…well, I should say, Chris only found out a couple of weeks ago"

Abbie shrugged "I'm going to assume that was what the shouting was about the other week?"

Mia winced "Yeah… You guys heard that?"

She shrugged again "Well we could hear shouting but could make out what was being said…"

There was again a few moment of silence. Abbie awkwardly stopped and started as she asked her next question.

"D-Don't take this the wrong way… but do you think Chris is going to make a good Dad?"

Mia's brow furrowed "What do you mean?"

Abbie lead her further into the kitchen out of ear's reach "I mean, I'm just thinking back to when you two started off… everything with Becca… It just seemed like he had some commitment issues…"

Mia shrugged then sighed "I get what you mean but that was over a year ago, he's changed a lot since then… He's more mature. I think he'll be okay"

Abbie smiled "Well, I'm very happy for you both" Her face suddenly dropped "Does Tyler know?"

Mia shook her head "No… I'm going to tell him tomorrow, I can imagine he'd be upset if know one tells him"

A small half-smile appeared on Abbie's face "Yeah, he'd be really happy for you both"

She smiled back "I really think you two should try and talk again… just to give it another shot"

"I will soon… I just need to get myself in the right frame of mind" Abbie replied.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, those who were not residents at 14 Willowtree Road began to make their way out of the door. James was the first to leave due to wanting an early night because of starting work the next morning. He bid his goodbyes and started his journey home.

Zig stayed behind a little longer, waiting for the chance to catch Mia alone for two minutes. Sooner than later the other house mates began to tidy up the snacks, Zig pulled Mia over to one side, "Hey, I just wanted to say congratulations personally… I think you're going to make a great Mom"

She smiled sweetly "Thank you"

He smiled sweetly back and lightly patted her back "Honestly though, if you need any help with baby sitting or anything, just give me a call. I'm more than happy to help"

"Really? That would mean a lot... You're a good guy, Zig. You don't get enough credit" She responded.

He gave her a quick wink before heading towards the door "Anything for you"

It was no great secret that Zig possessed an attraction towards Mia, he made that obvious from when they first met. However, he decided to make it less obvious once he found out she was with Chris. Him and Chris had gotten on quite well since the summer road trip so he wasn't about to jeopardise that by trying to steal Mia from him.

As soon as the door closed behind him Chris made his way over to Mia,

"What did he want?"

Mia rolled her eyes "He was just congratulating us, Mr Jealous"

Chris sighed " It's so blatant that he likes you, that's all…"

She laughed "You're being silly, he knows his place. Plus, you guys are friends. Friends don't steal each other's girlfriends… He's just being friendly"

He sighed "I guess so. I just worry about losing you"

She went onto her tip toes and placed a gentle kiss onto his lips. "Now you're being very silly"

He dazed into her eyes, a soft smile appeared on his lips "Let's go on up to bed?"

Mia lowered herself back onto her feet and led him up the stairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next morning Mia woke up entangled in Chris's arms. She turned to face him, and woke him up slowly by blowing into his face. He grinned as he realised what she was doing. He gently climbed on top of her, pinning her onto her back. She looked up at him seductively and batted her eyelids. He quietly chuckled before leaning down for a passionate kiss. As he went to remove her silk nighty, the moment was ruined as his phone began to ring.

He sighed before reaching over for the mobile and answering "What's up? Uh-huh…yeah…sure thing, I'll see you then"

Mia pouted her lips "Well that ruined the mood, who was it?"

"Darren, he wants me to go to his and watch the game tonight, if that's alright?" Chris asked.

She smiled "Sure…Just don't leave before the inspection this afternoon. I want _all_ hands on deck"

He smirked as he thought back to Zig the previous evening "Yeah, sure. _Anything for you_ "

She playfully whacked him with the pillow before getting up to get ready for the day.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As she made her way to way to kitchen for breakfast, she noticed Becca sat at the dining table looking sheepish.

"Morning" Mia said bluntly as she passed her.

"Mia, listen. I want to apologise for last night. I was thinking in bed last night and I think I over reacted a little" She sighed.

Mia stood next to the table with her hands on her hips and eyebrows raised "You don't say…"

Becca slammed her eyes at her and took another mouthful of cereal.

Mia shrugged "Look, as I said to the others last night. I'm not going to turn the house into a military camp… I want to keep things as normal as possible. But we've got plenty of time to prepare anyway. Baby isn't due for another seven months so I'm sure we can sort arrangements to suit everyone in that time…"

A small smiled appeared on Becca's face "I'm just not that great with babies or children that's all…but to show my great support, I got up early this morning and went to the market"

Becca reached over and started to dig around in the handbag in front of her. Eventually she pulled out a tiny, grey, fluffy body suit with bear ears and a tail.

She held it out to Mia "Here, I thought it was pretty cute and I thought of you"

Mia felt her heart melt slightly "Aw Becca, this is adorable. Babies first outfit"

She suddenly felt a rush of excitement "You're so going to be Aunty Bec-Bec"

A stern expression appeared on Becca's face "Don't push it"


	11. Chapter 11 - Final inspection

Later that morning the housemates waited impatiently in the living area of the house for the inspector to arrive. It was make or break with the house, if the inspection failed, they'd be left with no choice but to say goodbye to each other. The atmosphere was tense as Becca did a last minute tidy round to ensure the house was immaculate. The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it" Zack announced as he headed towards the door.

He opened the door and was greeted by Gabriella.

"I'm not late am I?" She asked

"No, no, Come on in" Zack smiled as he gestured her towards the living room.

Gabriella nervously walked over to where Mia was sat and plopped down next to her.

Mia put her hand on Gabriella's shoulder as she noticed her worried expression, "You okay?"

Gabriella smiled weakly "It's just all a bit nerve wracking"

She smiled back "Well, we've all put a lot of work into this house… Hopefully it will be enough to save it"

Gabriella gulped as she knew her inner intentions. With that, inspector Grant entered the home, looking equally as nervous. Zack began to lead both him and Gabriella around the house, showing them the various repairs and changes to the place.

The others remained in the living area, anxiously waiting.

Kaitlyn sat on the couch, feet on the cushions biting at her nails whilst looking blankly at the walls.

"Kait, please stop doing that. All I can hear is you chewing" Abbie moaned as she moved to the other side of the room.

Mia cuddled herself into Chris's side as he wrapped his arm around her, "How you holding up down there?"

She weakly smiled up at him, "I'm okay…just a little nervous, that's all"

He kissed the top of her head as she buried her face into his chest, "Me too"

Shortly later Zack, Gabriella and Grant joined everyone back in the living room. Both Zack and Gabriella sat down as Grant continued down his check list making small notes. After a short few moments that seemed like forever, he looked up at everyone with a grin on his face.

All the residents of the house suddenly became attentive.

He took a deep breath "Okay, well I'm relieved to tell you that the house has passed the inspection"

Zack let out a cheer as Kaitlyn jumped up and performed some sort of victory dance which consisted of her moon walking across the living room, clapping her hands.

Gabriella stood warily a little distance away from the group of young adults.

Grant let out a chuckle before continuing "However, I do need to make you aware that the house needs to be maintained regularly to keep it legally safe."

Mia bounced over to Gabriella and pulled her into a hug. She hastily pulled away, avoiding eye contact.

Mia's brow furrowed "What's the matter? I thought you'd be happy the house passed?"

She sighed "I am, really… you heard though… it's going to be a lot of maintenance to keep this place up together. That's going to cost a lot of money"

Mia scratched her head "Well, we should be able to afford it. I mean, we've done all this to pass today"

Gabriella let out another sigh "Mia, I can't expect all the costs to fall on you and your friends. You're all young and still in education. I just cannot afford it, especially now I have Rico… I've been made an offer on the house… A really good one"

Mia's face fell, she snapped "What? No, you can't do that!"

She took a step back, slightly startled by Mia's abruptness "Mia, I have to think of what's best for me and my son. I'm a single mother, I need all the cash I can get"

Mia pinched between her brow, "No, you don't understand. I cannot loose this house, not now!"

The other house mates stood back away from the two women.  
Gabriella looked a Mia confused for a few moments.

Chris walked over behind Mia, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I think you and Gabriella need a meeting in private"

She nodded her head in agreement before making eye contact with Gabriella. Gabriella sighed "Come with me, we'll talk in my apartment"

Mia walked over towards the cloak room to grab her coat. Chris pulled her aside, "Hey, just be honest… I'm going out to meet Darren in a bit so I doubt I will be here when you get back… Just ring me if you want me to come home"

He left a soft kiss on the top of her head as he let her go.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There was an awkward silence the entire journey back to Gabriella's apartment, it only became more awkward as they walked up. Entering the apartment, Mia sat down on the couch, nervously staring at the floor.

Gabriella sat by the side of her trying her best to create eye contact, "So, are you going to tell me what's going on? I understand that you're upset about potentially losing the house and I get that it's going to be hard for you all to separate after living together for so long"

She shook her head, "No it's not that…"

"Then what is it?" Gabriella questioned.

Mia's brow furrowed, "Back in the house when you said that you have to do what's best for you and your son…well, I have to do the same…"

Gabriella frowned in confusion "I'm lost… where are you going with this?"

Mia placed a single hand over her stomach and darted her eyes to the floor, holding her head low.

She shook her head and sighed "Oh for heavens sake Mia, are you being serious right now?"

Mia slowly nodded, "Mmhmm"

Gabriella took a deep breath in, "Okay… well, I now understand why you're worried about loosing the house."

Again, Mia nodded.

Gabriella smiled softly, "Look, I really do understand what you're going through and what you will be going through. I've not made a final decision on the house yet, I have a little while before I have to decide. I can't promise anything but I'll take a look at the budget and _if_ I can afford both an adequate life for me and Rico and the maintenance of the house… I'll decline the offer"

A tear rolled down Mia's cheek "Thank you"

Gabriella couldn't help but giggle "Sorry, I can't help but think about if my Dad was here. All this drama, it would be the plot line of his next book"

Mia wiped her tears and began also to giggle "Young pregnant girl, juggling college whilst trying to keep her home, he's definitely looking down on us now writing away"

Both women spent a few minutes longer reminiscing the late Enrique Vasquez and joking about how he'd deal with the current scenarios. It was eventually agreed that poor Mia would have been fired as his assistant as a baby would be far more distracting than the dreaded stripped shirt.

Eventually Gabriella checked her watch, "Hey it's getting pretty late and I need to put Rico to bed soon. C'mon, let's get you home"

Mia smiled as she put her coat back on "Thank you, again"

Gabriella smiled back, "Hey, don't go building your hopes up but I'll do my best. Now come on… out the door"

Both women hopped into the car and drove off towards North Bridge…


	12. Chapter 12 - 'That man'

Later that evening Mia and Zack lounged comfortably across both of the couches as they watched the latest TV horror drama 'It Lives In the Woods'.

"Damn, this is good. Where's Kaitlyn? She would love this" Mia laughed just after she jumped a mile from a scary part.

Zack shrugged "Think she said something about the band"

There were a few moments of silence before Zack launched a chip at the TV as he shouted "OMG! Why would you do that! Run bitch…The other way!"

Mia narrowed her eyes coldly at him from the opposite couch, "Hey, don't throw the chips… I could have eaten that…"

Zack smirked "Cravings, huh?"

She shoved another handful of chips into her mouth; her eye's glued to the TV screen, "You have no idea…"

The pair continued to watch the show a few minutes longer before they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Both Mia and Zack looked at each other and then at the front door.

Mia shook her head, hiding behind a blanket "I'm not opening it…"

Zack stiffened "Well, I don't want to go either…What if it's what ever is living in the woods?"

She took a deep breath "Okay…We'll go together"

Both stood onto their feet and edged there way towards the door. Zack grabbed the old wooded coat rack and held it up to use as protection. Mia reached for door.

Behind the door, stood a very well dressed, middle aged man. He looked straight to Zack with a confused look. Zack lowered the coat rack back down to the floor. The man's eyes then met with Mia's.

He held his hand out towards her, "Good evening"

She raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?"

The strange man chuckled to himself as he straightened his tie, "I do apologise, I should have introduced myself first. I am Mr Delacroix, you are most likely aware of my work in the area during recent months?"

Mia's face hardened "Yes"

Mr Delacroix smirked "May I come inside?"

She narrowed her eye's "What ever you have to say, you can say out here. I'm not really one for inviting strange men into my home"

He laughed "My son mentioned you had a sharp tongue, Mia"

Mia's didn't break eye contact, "What can I help you with?"

"Well, it's apparent that you are trying to reason with the landlady to decline my offer on this house" He smirked.

Zack quickly interrupted "That would be because this is our home and we have no where else to go!"

Mr Delacroix reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a cheque book, "This is exactly the reason why I have come here myself. Name your price, I'm sure we can come to some sort of negotiation"

Mia slammed her eyes, "We're not interested"

Mr Delacroix smiled smugly before composing himself and softening his face "With all due respect, sweet heart, given you're current _situation,_ I could make your life a lot easier…"

Her face dropped as the man continued to speak, "You see, I have the abilities to sort both you and your partner out with a state of the art apartment, perfect for you to raise your little one. The best part, it will be all yours… No rent to be paid, not even a mortgage… I'll sort all that out for you"

Mia paused, her face too softened. What he offered was extremely tempting.

Her own place with Chris, where they could raise their child, not far from the college…It would be perfect…almost too good to be true. She quickly snapped out of her daydream as another question crossed her mind.

"How do you know?"

Mr Delacroix smirked, "Sweetheart, I can find out anything"

Mia scowled at him "Y'know what? I'm not interested in anything you have come here to bribe us with… By the way I'm not your _sweetheart_ "

Mr Delacroix chuckled to himself "The thing is, there is one thing that you do not seem to be aware of… I will always get what I want"

She glared intensely at him, in attempt to intimidate him "You dare send your son round to sabotage anything again and I will report you"

He laughed "You really think I'd send my Son around to do any of my dirty work? Heaven's no, he wouldn't understand the word subtle even if you slapped him in the face with it. He's far too dramatic; he's pretty useless to me in fact… What he did here was all his doings"

Mia gritted her teeth. Before she could say anything more, Zack cut in front of her, "If you do not leave the property in the thirty seconds, I will call the police."

Mr Delacroix face hardened, his eyes went from Zack back over to Mia. Pointing his finger at her, a smug look spread over his face, " _Sweetheart_ , don't forget that I know your little secret"

With that he turned his back and headed out the front gates towards the black Mercedes parked outside.

Zack slammed the front door shut and the pair headed back to the couch.

"What a knob" He shouted as he plopped back down onto the cushion.

Mia shook her head "He seems like a bigger tool than his Son…"

Zack laughed "Tell me about it,"

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A few hours later, Mia laid asleep across one of the couches, whilst Zack sleepily watched the remainder of 'Most Wanted'.

Kaitlyn was the first to burst through the door…she was wrecked. She stumbled across the living room and into the kitchen, where she propped herself up against the cupboard and rummaged in a drawer for chips. She then stumbled part way back across the living room before stopping in front of the TV. She stuffed a handful of chips into her mouth and glared at Zack when the packet rustled, "Shhhh"

Zack raised an eyebrow at her, "Oh dear lord"

She squinted back at him "My bestie is sleeping… you need to shhh"

With that she stumbled to the side and toppled over. He sighed deeply and shuffled over to her.

"Let's get you up to bed," He muttered as he picked her up and dragged her up the stairs and into her room, leaving Mia peacefully dozing on the couch.

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As Zack made his way back down the stairs, he saw that Chris was crouched down by Mia.

"You okay?" Zack asked.

Chris slowly got up and perched on the sofa next to her, he rubbed his eyes, "Yeah, I was just checking if she was asleep or not"

Zack nodded as he laid back onto the opposite couch, "Yeah, she's been out for about an hour now"

Chris turned back to Mia and smiled to himself, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear.

"How was your night?" Zack yawned

He nodded, "Yeah, it was decent. How was it back here?"

Zack sighed before he began to fill Chris in with the dramas with Mr Delacroix…

Chris pinched between his eyebrows, "I'm sick to fucking death of anyone with the last name Delacroix,"

Zack laughed, "Tell me about it"

Chris looked back to Mia, "I'm gonna head up to bed…I'll carry Mia up as well"

He scooped Mia up in his arms bridle style and carried her up into her room.

As he settled her into bed, she began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open. He sat down next to her and stroked her hair.

"What time did you get back?" She asked

He smiled sweetly at her "Not long ago"

She looked around the room, slightly disorientated as Chris continued to talk, "I heard you had a visitor tonight,"

Mia nodded sleepily "What he tried to bribe us with was very tempting"

Chris smiled "I know, Zack said. I'm glad you said no, though"

She looked down, "I just don't understand how he knew…I'm scared about what he's planning"

He cupped her cheek with his hand, "What can he do? He can't touch us..."

She smiled as she gazed up at him "I guess so…stay with me tonight?"

Chris didn't hesitate and curled up in the quilts next to her, holding her close.


	13. Chapter 13- Who told

The moon light softly lit up the room as the pair laid peacefully side by side. Both were awake, talking amongst themselves as the night got later.

Chris playfully flicked Mia's nose, leaving her quietly giggling. He grinned, "I like these nights, just me and you, chatting random crap throughout the night"

She smiled back at him "Me too, it's these random conversations where I find out the little bits about you that don't come up in day time conversation"

He raised an eyebrow "Oh yeah? Like what?"

Mia laughed softly "Like that small scar on the side of your face…from when you fell out a tree a few years ago"

He chuckled to himself for a few moments before his eyebrows furrowed "You know, you don't ever talk much about your life before Hartfeld? Like, obviously I've met your parents and that… but you never talk about your school days, old friends or anything?"

She paused for a moment, her brows also furrowing "I had a bit of a reputation in school amongst my friendship group…"

Chris raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

Mia continued as she gulped "Well, I always worked hard to get good grades, never really got into trouble and was easy to get along with but, uh… apparently in my friend group I was the one that 'got around' a bit… If you, uh, get what I mean…"

It took a little while for any words to come out from Chris's mouth, "Oh…really?"

She straightened her face, "I slept with _you_ after knowing you for approximately six hours and you looked surprised…"

He thought about that for a couple of seconds and shrugged it off, "I can't really say much myself… but you probably worked that one out after approximately six hours of knowing me"

Mia laughed "Hey, but we've only stuck with each other ever since. The guys back home would be amazed!"

"Well, we've got that connection. I said that when we were sat on the roof, the day we met. I had that gut feeling that you were the girl for me. I guess that's why I got cold feet to start off with…" He smiled as he laced his fingers around hers.

"What about that ex girlfriend of yours?" Mia asked inquisitively

Chris face went poker straight, "Nicole? What about her?"

"I dunno, what was she like? You were clearly upset about her when you first started here…" She shrugged

He took in a deep breathe, "Well, as I said, I didn't really fit in to a 'group' when I first started High School… She was that badass chick that everyone wanted to date, even though they were intimidated by her. We met in class and we got to know each other pretty quick, from then I got acquainted with her friends i.e. 'the wrong crowd'... We got into all kinds of shit together but when it really came down to it… She never had my back… not even throughout the car theft stuff"

Mia cuddled into him closer and looked up at him.

He continued "She got me into some stupid stuff like smoking and drugs… then we had a huge argument when it came to college and she left me on the spot…In reality, she was a complete bitch. Hartfeld was like a fresh start for me… Then I met you and I realised what real love was."

She smiled sweetly at him, "Were Nicole and I anything alike in any way?"

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "The only thing you have in common is that you are both very confident and know exactly what you want...I find that attractive in a girl" He sighed before vacantly smiling "If only we went to the same High School, you would have definitely kept me in line"

The giggled together for a short while before his face dropped, "Hey… Please don't mention to the others anything about the drugs… It not something I'm proud of. I'd rather no one else knew"

Mia cupped his face, "Your secrets are safe with me" and leant in closer for a kiss. The kiss lingered for a few seconds, Chris pulled away, allowing his forehead to rest against hers. He looked her in the eyes and smiled softly "I love you, beautiful"

"I love you too," She responded and she kissed him once more.

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The next morning Mia and Kaitlyn walked side by side as they strolled across the college campus. The snow had finally melted away and fresh grass was starting to grow its way through the soil, leaving that fresh, spring smell.

Kaitlyn took a deep sniff in "I love that smell, can you smell it"

Mia beamed "spring is on its way!"

Kaitlyn excitedly linked her arm with Mia's with a huge grin across her face, "Which means summer is near! I cannot wait for the barbeques, late nights around the fire, trips to the beach and the pool parties."

Mia's expression dropped slightly, " I guess by the time we reach summer, I'm going to resemble that of a whale… Maybe I'll ditch the pool parties and beach"

Kaitlyn stopped in her tracks, pulling Mia to a sudden halt as well "Girl, you've got to embrace that bump" Kaitlyn paused and look down towards Mia's abdomen, the start of her bump had just began to grow, it was completely unnoticeable to those who did not know. A smile then spread across Kaitlyns face once again, "and at the end of the summer, you will be a Mommy…Which I think is more exciting than anything"

Mia laughed nervously, "Exciting and terrifying"

Both girls giggled as they continued there leisurely walk across the campus green as they headed for the café. As they approached the water feature, a small group of girls; who appeared to be freshmen, passed by. Each of them taking there turns to stare over at Mia and Kaitlyn before turning back to each other whispering and giggling.

Mia noticed them out the corner of her eye, making her feel uncomfortable she focused on the ground in front of her.

Kaitlyn dogged the group of girls up and down as they quickly moved along. She then turned towards Mia, "What the heck was all that about?"

Mia shrugged, "God knows… I hope we weren't that annoying and immature as freshmen"

Kaitlyn shook her head "Nahh…I don't think so anyway…"

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Shortly later the girls both reached the café. They both took a small wooden table for two at the back of the shop and settled into there seats.

Mia smiled "Hey, I'll get these… you paid last time. What do ya fancy?"

Kaitlyn took the menu and scanned over it with an intense look on her face. Eventually her eyes paused and a grin appeared, "Ohh, a triple hot chocolate with cream and a slice of marble cake"

Mia chuckled to herself and headed towards the counter to order. She never understood how Kaitlyn could eat so much crap and never put any weight on. Zig was on shift and smiled at her as she approached.

He took out his note pad and grinned "And what can I get you today, Miss Treswell"

Mia laughed at the fake voice he put on "A triple hot chocolate with cream, a slice of marble cake and a…. de-caff latte, please and thank you"

Zig jottered the order down and winked at her "Will be with you in five minutes"

Mia returned to the table where Kaitlyn was sat, the pair continued to converse about the random topics that came to mind. They were suddenly interrupted by Annisa who had cautiously approached."

Kaitlyn was the first to notice her stood next to them, "Hey Annisa,"

She smiled in return "Hey, Kaitlyn" her focus then re-directed onto Mia "umm I just wanted to say I'm really happy for you and Chris"

Mia's face dropped and her eyebrows raised "I'm sorry, what?"

Annisa took a step back away from Mia and looked at her nervously, "The baby?"

Mia felt herself panic, "What are you talking about?"

Poor Annisa stood awkwardly at the end of the table, looking towards Kaitlyn for reassurance.

Mia felt herself boiling and finally snapped "Don't believe everything you hear, okay?"

"Oh…I'm s-sorry" Annisa stuttered as she briskly walked away.

Mia stared down at the table frowning as she just processed what had happened.

Kaitlyn raise her eyebrows and huffed "Wow, that was a bit harsh"

Her glare went from focusing on the table to focusing on Kaitlyn, she felt herself boiling once again, "What the hell Kait! Why the heck have you been telling people?!"

Kaitlyn was taken back by Mia's sudden irritability "Why are you accusing me?"

Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Well you're so close to her it's obvious! How could you do that?"

"Mia I didn't say anything"

Mia slammed her fists down on the table "You knew I didn't want anyone to know yet but _nooo_ , you had open your damn mouth"

Kaitlyn finally snapped back "Jheez, talk about bloody hormones! I didn't say anything, Mia!"

Mia stood up and huffed "Yeah right" before storming out of the café.

Zig stood awkwardly near the table holding both the hot chocolate and latte in each hand. He caught eye contact with Kaitlyn and raised an eyebrow, "I guess I'll take the latte back?"

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Mia stormed back to the house and shut herself in her room. She sat on the edge of her bed, arms crossed, scowling at the floor. How could she, her own best friend? Something so sensitive was now common knowledge around campus. Heck, not ever her parents knew yet but the whole of Hartfeld apparently did.

Zack cautiously knocked on the door before letting himself in.

"Hey, you seemed a tad upset when you came in… You wanna talk about it?"

Mia looked up, "Depends, are you going to tell the whole world about our conversation?"

Zack rolled his eyes, "Okay, tell me what's been going on"

Mia filled Zack in with the events from the café in great detail. Zack listened to her intensely,

"That doesn't sound like something Kaitlyn would normally do…. She's normally really good at keeping secrets."

Mia sighed "That's what I thought…"

He put a sympathetic hand on Mia's shoulder and smiled loosely, "Hey, I'll try and talk to her later…y'know to at least get her to apologise."

She smiled weakly back at him, "Thank you Zack, it would mean a lot"

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Later that same day Mia was awoken from her afternoon nap by a wary sounding knock coming from outside her bedroom door.

"Come in," Mia yawned.

The door opened and Becca stood awkwardly in the door way, "I heard you and Kaitlyn had a bit of a bust up"

Mia just grunted as a form of confirmation.

Becca gulped, "I may have something to confess"

Mia sat up looking at Becca intently. She continued to enter the room nervously shutting the door behind her.

She let out a deep sigh, "I may have told the girls at the sorority…one of them must have blabbed"

Mia frowned, "What?"

Becca's voice started to speed up as she panicked, "It's just that we used to tell each other everything when I was in the sorority and there were never any secrets. I wanted to be friends with them all again so I told them and now…Now I realise that was a really selfish thing to do"

Mia glared at her, "Becca, none of it is your place to say. I don't expect you to understand all the emotions that I've been feeling since I found out and I definitely was not ready for anyone else to know. I told you in confidence…"

Becca submissively looked down towards the floor, "Mia, I'm so sorry"

Mia sighed and rubbed a hand over her face, "Well it's done now…I better go and apologise to Kaitlyn."

She stood up from the bed and pushed past Becca to go to the room down and across the hall.

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She gently knocked on Kaitlyn's door twice before cautiously letting herself in.

"What do you want?" Kaitlyn huffed as she saw Mia enter the room.

"I came to apologise…"

Kaitlyn huffed and turned the other way.

Mia gulped, "I'm sorry for blaming you for blabbing and I'm sorry for causing a scene in the café earlier… I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did."

Kaitlyn didn't respond and remained to face the other way.

Mia then let out a deep sigh, "And I wasn't planning on asking you yet but after some consideration, me and Chris wanted to ask if you'll be the babies godmother?"

Kaitlyn slowly sat herself up and turned to face Mia, a single tear ran down her cheek and a smile broke out across her face, "Are you being serious?"

Mia smiled sweetly and nodded, "Yeah. One hundred percent serious"

Kaitlyn lunged forwards wrapping Mia into a tight embrace, "Yes, yes, _yes._ Of course I will"

Both girls spent the rest of the afternoon in Kaitlyn's room discussing future plans and reminiscing back to the good old freshman days, when they first met.

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Hi there everyone. I just wanted to say a huge thank you to those who have been following this story so far and another huge thank you to those who have left reviews. Each review mean's a lot! I have a lot in store for this story and I hope you all continue to keep reading as each chapter comes out. - Milo2013


	14. Chapter 14- It's a

A few weeks passed and the date for Mia's twenty week scan had finally arrived. Slowly but surely the couple were becoming more and more prepared for their upcoming arrival. After some discussion, it was decided that Chris's room would be turned into a nursery and that he would move all of his belongings into Mia's room and share. The reason being that her room was the biggest out of the two.

Mia stood directly in front of the full length mirror in her room. She ran her hand gently over the now quite visible bump and smiled to herself. Her attention diverted to the sound of her door creaking opening. Chris entered with a large box of his belongings.

"This is the last of it. Where do you want me to put all this?" He asked

She took a moment to look around the room before giving her answer, "Just put it over by the window for the moment, we can sort it out later"

Chris placed the box as directed; the room looked completely disorganised as they merged their belongings.

Mia sighed at the mess but then smiled once she realised what the time was, "Come on, we should probably leave in a minute"

He smiled over at her and tugged lightly on her wrist, "Come and see what I've done with the nursery first"

She grinned back at him and followed him over to what used to be his room. She poked her head around the door frame and the grin on her face only grew more. The room had already begun its transformation.

She skipped to the centre of the room and looked around with awe on her face. In one corner of the room a white, wooden cot was put together, filled with neatly folded, knitted blankets and a grey plush elephant toy. On the other side of the room a large wooden shelf had been built, a few toys placed strategically on top of it. Next to the shelf was a small set of Chester drawers. Mia opened each of the drawers to find them filled with the baby grows that they had begun to collect.

Mia looked back at Chris who was still stood in the doorway, "You did all of this?"

Chris smiled, "I can't take all of the credit, Zack's been helping me put it all together"

The grin on her face spread, "But when?"

"When you've gone to bed… I wanted to surprise you when it was all finished but I couldn't wait"

She leaped over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist "Thank you, it's amazing so far."

He looked around the room himself, "I'm just not sure about what colour to do the walls…"

Mia glanced up to him, "We'll know the gender today. That should be able to help make a decision"

He smiled, "You want to find out today?"

She smiled back, "Yeah, now come on, or we'll miss our appointment"

Mia clasped his wrist in her hands then dragged him down the hallway and stairs, looking back at him every few seconds as she heard him chuckle.

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The couple sat impatiently in the waiting area, along with other expecting couples as they waited for their names to be called.

After ten minutes or so, Mia found herself anxiously tapping her foot. Chris looked over to her and put her hand into his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She gazed up to him, a peaceful smile spread across her face and the tapping stopped.

"Miss Treswell?"

A voice called out, bringing both Mia and Chris to attention. Nurse Calder stood in the corner of the room; she smiled warmly at the couple as they looked her way.

"Would you like to come with me?"

Mia and Chris both stood up in sync and followed Nurse Calder down what seemed a never ending corridor, hand in hand. After a short walk Nurse Calder lead them into a room, which looked much like the room from the last scan.

"I hope you do not mind but I have a trainee Nurse with me today. She is hoping to perform today's scan to gather some work experience. I will need your consent before hand"

Mia nodded in agreement, "Yes, that's not an issue. She's more than welcome to perform the scan"

Another Nurse joined them shortly after and prepared Mia for the scan.

A short while later Mia found herself in awe, once again, as she gazed at the little figure on the screen. This time the little figure made small movements, which only made the whole scenario more real.

Chris choked on his breath ever so slightly, "Did you see that? The little guy or gal waved out"

Mia let out a short laugh of excitement, "Yeah, I did." She paused for a moment and took Chris's hand as a single tear of joy ran down her cheek. She continued to gaze at the screen.

"Hi, to you too, baby" She chuckled.

The second Nurse who was performing the scan too let out a little giggle.

Nurse Calder smiled warmly at the couple who were completely besotted with their future child as she made the necessary checks.

A couple of minutes passed before Nurse Calder joined the couple, she stood at the end of the bed with a grin.

"I've done all the checks, everything is moving along nicely as it should. Your little one is currently about six and a half inches crown to rump, which is totally normal and weighs around ten point two ounces, which is again average. We have a nice strong heartbeat there as well which indicates you baby is in good health"

Relieved smiled spread across the couple's faces as they waited for the next question.

Nurse Calder could sense that the couple were waiting for what she was about to ask. She grinned, "As you are probably aware, at twenty weeks, we can now identify the sex of your baby. Is this something you'd like to know now or something you'd like to keep as a surprise?"

Mia looked to Chris with a huge grin that spread from cheek to cheek. He laughed and looked back to Nurse Calder, "I don't think we could be that patient, we'd like to find out today"

The Nurse nodded her head with a smile and looked back at her screen. She stared at the screen intensely for a few minutes before turning her head back to the couple.

Chris had one arm under Mia's neck, his hand resting on her shoulder. His other hand intertwined with hers as they impatiently waited for the reveal.

The Nurse performing the scan signalled Nurse Calder over and whispered into her ear. Nurse Calder smiled and nodded.

Nurse Calder took in a deep breath with a smile on her face, "I am please to announce that you are expecting a baby… girl!"

The couple looked at each other and beamed, tears of joy coming from both sides.

"A little girl! Chris, the room has to be pink!" Mia giggled.

Chris chuckled back, "Pink it is… anything for my beautiful Girlfriend and little girl"

His words sent a warming shudder through her. When ever he spoke about him and her being a family, it gave her butterflies. Even more so now that it was actually going to happen.

The couple and the two nurses stayed talking for a further half an hour before the appointment came to an end. As before, Nurse Calder handed them a white envelope which held the photo's of the day's ultrasound.

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On the way back, Mia opened the envelope and flicked through the various snap shots taken. She smiled as she gazed down at the little life growing inside of her.

"I still can't believe it… each day it seems more surreal"

Chris gave her a quick kiss on the temple as he tried to keep his eyes on the road, "Just think, only another twenty weeks and we could be doing this journey whilst bringing her home" he paused for a brief moment, "and I couldn't be more proud of myself… I found the perfect girl to be the mother of my child. Your going to be amazing"

Another tear ran down her cheek as a bigger smile formed across her face. Chris placed on hand on the top of her thigh and squeezed lightly.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After a short journey home, the pair climbed out of the car and headed towards the house, full of conversation and laughter. Mia reached for the door handle and swung the door open.

"We're home" She sung.

Her eyes darted towards the sofa where two familiar figures sat. She quickly zipped up her coat and shoved the white envelope into Chris's hands. Her face dropped and drained of colour.

"Mom?...Dad?" She stuttered questioningly as she slowly edged towards them.

"Oh, sweet heart!" Her mother called out as she left the sofa and pulled Mia into an embrace.

Mia cautiously hugged back trying to act as normal as possible. Why had they come to visit all of a sudden, out of the blue? And how long can she possible hide her secret from them?

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Hello all. Apologies for not updating for a couple of weeks, work commitments have been taking up most of my time. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter and don't forget to leave a little review after. Thank you for reading - Milo2013


	15. Chapter 15 - Daddies Disappointment

Mia pulled back from her mothers embrace with a weak smile, "What are you two doing here?"

Her Mom smiled sweetly back, "We had a call from someone at the college, they were a little concerned about you and said that it would be wise for us to come down and make sure you were doing okay"

Mia was more confused than before, she raised an eyebrow "What? Who?"

"Oh I can't quite remember his name, a tutor I assume. He didn't go into any details but just said that you seemed out of sorts" She explained

Mia sighed and cracked a fake smile, "Mom, I'm fine…I promise"

Her Father looked back at her from the sofa "You understand that you can talk to your Mother and I about anything troubling you, right?"

He was a well presented and well spoken man, who held a lot of authority in his voice. His eyes narrowed darted backwards and forwards between Mia and Chris.

He suddenly stood up, not waiting for Mia to answer and walked straight over to Chris.

Chris nervously smiled as the man approached him, putting the hand with the white envelope behind his back. The man stood directly in front of him, quickly scanning him over. Chris cautiously looked over to Mia, who was quite clearly dying of embarrassment. His attention quickly diverted back to Mia's Father who was stood in front of him.

He smiled and held his hand out "I don't believe we've met properly yet. You must be Chris"

Chris nervously shook his hand, "Uh…yes…and you must be Mr Treswell?"

Mr Treswell chuckled "Please, call me Vincent"

The room fell into a slightly awkward silence for a few seconds.

Mrs Treswell suddenly clapped her hands together and grinned, "Well, whilst we're here, how about you update us on how things have been."

Mia led both of her parents to the sofa and sat them down before sitting down herself, Chris perched himself next to Mia.

Over the course of an hour, Mia had updated her parents on how her sophomore year was going, her plans for her junior year and all of the drama with the house. The conversation seemed to flow as Mia's parents also updated her on how life was at home.

"Your cousin Hanna has been asking about you recently. I have a feeling she plans on visiting you soon" Mrs Treswell grinned.

Mia's face lit up. She and Hanna had always been so close when growing up. Since moving to Hartfeld, she had barely seen her. "Oh that would be lovely. We are in _desperate_ need of a girly catch-up"

"Sounds like you have some gossip? Anything I can know" Mrs Treswell's grin intensified.

Mia burst into a fit of giggles, "Mom, I don't think you'd want to know"

After the conversation regarding the house situation, Mr Treswell was fixated in thought. He suddenly interrupted the conversation, "Mia, Chris. Have you both thought about getting this place listed as a monument?"

They both looked over his way and suddenly became attentive. Mr Treswell continued "Okay, since Mr Vasquez was a credited author and his work proving to be popular, perhaps you would be in with a chance of having this house listed as a monument, in remembrance of the man himself. I mean, you will not be able to live here if it went ahead but it would prevent the house from being demolished and the council would be responsible for any maintenance…"

Chris smiled "Thank you Mr Tres- I mean Vincent. We'll talk to the others about it later"

"No problem, now what did you say that Developers name was again?" Mr Treswell responded.

Mia sighed deeply "Mr Dorian Delacroix…"

Mr Treswell furrowed his brow and took a few seconds to think, "No… Darling, I think you're getting confused… Mr Delacroix is one of the professors at your college"

Mia raised an eyebrow and exchanged confused looks with Chris, "No Dad, I think you're confused…"

"No… Mr Delacroix was who called me and you're Father, raising the concerns about you. He certainly said he was from the College" Mrs Treswell said with a worried smile.

"That… that B-" Mia started. She soon piped down after receiving a harsh glare from her Father.

She sighed "I'm sorry, it's just that he's been meddling with our lives for months now. He's not from the College… He's the developer who's trying to flatten this place"

Mrs Treswell looked at Mia sympathetically, "Are you sure you're okay? This whole situation must be very stressful for you?"

Mia smiled back at her Mother weakly "Mom, I'm an adult now… which means I have to deal with situations like this. I'm fine, I promise" There were a few seconds of silence before Mia continued "I'll go make everyone a drink."

Mia stood up and squeezed her way through the small gap between the couch and coffee table. As she passed Chris, her leg brushed his hands that rested on his knees, knocking the white envelope out of his grip and onto the wooden flooring. The contents of the envelope fell out face down. Mia looked back and tensed as she watched both Chris and her Father reach for what had fallen onto the floor. Chris winced subtly as Mr Treswell swept up the photos before he had chance to

pick them up. Mia's held her breathe anxiously as her Father turned the photo's over and bought them into his eye sight.

Mr Treswell held the first photo in front of his eyes, taking his time to study the image. His faced dropped when he saw what the image was. He flicked through each of the ultrasound photos, his teeth gritted. He slammed the photo's face down on the coffee table and glared at Chris, pointing a finger directly at him.

"Vincent, what's the matter?" Mrs Treswell asked concerned.

Mr Treswell continued to glare harshly at Chris, through gritted teeth he hissed "Now, I'm going to ask my daughter to remove her coat…Is there anything I should know prior?"

Chris gulped but remained composed…He held his head high and stood up, "I love her"

Mrs Treswell looked between everyone confused whilst Mia looked guilty. Mr Treswell shook his head and huffed before looking over to his daughter, "Mia, take of your coat now please"

She let out a deep sigh and unzipped her coat, revealing the small bump. She closed her eyes as could not face seeing her Mother's disappointment.

Mrs Treswell gasped "Oh my goodness you're pregnant!"

Mr Treswell shook his head in disbelief and tensed his jaw, "I can't deal with this right now" He went to storm out of the house but stopped directly in front Chris, his face tensed more "My first time meeting you and I discover you've gotten my only daughter pregnant. Believe me son; you are not in my good books. If you ever hurt her after you've done this… there will be trouble. Do you understand?"

Chris gulped and nodded nervously, "Yes, Mr Treswell"

Mr Treswell stomped towards the door.

"Vincent?" Mrs Treswell called out

"No Maria, I am going back to the hotel. I can not deal with this at the moment. What on earth are the rest of the family going to think?" He shouted back, storming out the house, slamming the door behind him.

Mia slumped back into the sofa; Chris came straight to her side to comfort her.

Her mother sighed whilst rubbing her temples "Oh sweetie, how many times have I told you to go careful. You're both far too young for this. It's a huge responsibility"

Mia looked up to her and took in a deep breathe, "Mom, I get that you and Dad are disappointed in me but me and Chris are both adults now… As I said earlier, now as an adult… I have to deal with adult situations, this is one of those situations" She looked over at Chris and smiled warmly "Plus we love each other and want to make this work"

Mrs Treswell smiled weakly "I should probably catch up with your father. I'll try and calm him down. I'll call you tomorrow Mia… Hopefully he will be calm enough to discuss this rationally. Chris, I apologise on Vincent's behalf… It's just taken us by surprise" She stood around awkwardly for a few moments before scurrying towards the door.

Chris slumped back on the sofa, "Well I fucked that up good and proper"

Mia leant against him, "He'll come round to you eventually… I mean before the 'great' reveal, he seemed to like you"

Chris sighed, "I can't blame him for being angry. I mean he's never met me in person before and when he does, he finds out I've gotten his daughter pregnant… If it was our daughter, I'd be the same…"

Mia cupped his face in her palm and lead him into a kiss, she smiled at him sweetly, "He'll get used to the idea…It might just take a while"


	16. Chapter 16 - I'll make you proud

The afternoon hours drew in and the spring day became warmer. Mia and Becca sat with a latte in the café whilst catching up with the drama's of the morning. Becca raised her eyebrows and gasped.

"So Mr Delacroix actually went as far as calling your parents and getting them to come to the house?"

Mia took a small sip of her latte, "Unbelievable, right?"

Becca rolled her eyes a screwed up her face, "Ugh, he's so slimy and smug. How did he even know?"

" I have no idea… to be fair, I think most people know now…" She sighed heavily

Becca grimaced "Talking of that… How did your parents react?"

"Ugh…" Mia groaned, she sighed again "Not great… I wasn't sure on how I was going to tell them but Chris accidentally dropping this morning's ultrasound photos all over the place did the trick"

Becca's grimace only spread bigger across her face, "Oh no…"

"Oh no, indeed... My Dad went crazy… He got really nasty with Chris as well. Mom took it a little better but they'll get used to it… I mean, there's not much they can do about it now… It's just Chris's Mom to go."

Becca's grimace disappeared from her face, "Well at least it's a weight lifted from your shoulders now that it's in the open… When do you plan on telling Chris's Mom?"

Mia smiled at her across the table, "Well, he mentioned to me about going over to visit for a few days, over the spring break and telling her then"

"Do you think she'll be mad?" Becca asked as she took the last gulp of her latte.

Mia paused for a brief second, "I don't really know… Chris seems to think she'll take it quite well but who knows?"

Becca smiled " I'm sure it'll be fine…I'm just glad your having a girl"

Mia smiled with a raised eyebrow "Why?"

Becca grinned, "Aunty Bec-bec needs to teach sass, and I don't think a little boy would be as easy to teach"

She rolled her eyes "Oh, boy"

The two girls both broke out into a fit of laughter before finishing up and leaving the café.

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Mia entered the house and made a B-line towards the kitchen passing Abbie who was lounged across the couch on her way. She went straight to the counter where a plate was left with a cover over the top.

"I've been major craving this allll day… time to fed the urge" She mumbled to herself.

Mia removed the cover off which revealed an empty plate with just a few crumbs. She slammed the cover back over the top and pouted her lips.

"Where's the chocolate cake gone?" She snapped aloud.

Abbie suddenly moved from the sofa and cautiously wandered over to the kitchen. She hovered by the arch way.

"Oh, I was a little peckish earlier and there was a slice left over"

Mia felt a sudden burn of irritation spread over her, "It wasn't left over. It was _my_ slice"

Abbie sarcastically widened her eyes "Mia, chill out. It's only cake."

"I think you're missing the point… It was _my_ slice of cake. You don't understand how bad I've been craving today" She snapped.

"I'm sorry, if I knew it was yours, I wouldn't have eaten it" Abbie sighed

Mia stood with her arms folded and face straight "I think it's time you leave…"

Abbie chocked back, "I'm sorry? All of this over a slice of cake?"

Mia sighed deeply, "No but this was the last straw. You've outstayed your welcome… It's not like you haven't got anywhere to go? You've got an apartment and a boyfriend that you just keep forgetting exist!"

Abbie went to open her mouth to say something back but Mia cut her short, "No, I don't want to hear it. You need to go and speak to Tyler… today. Things aren't going to sort themselves out if you don't communicate"

Mia left Abbie stood in the arch way to think about what had just happened. She moved passed her and made her way upstairs and into her room. She took in a deep breathe and let it out. She leant back onto her bed, placing her hand over her stomach and closed her eyes. She could feel small little kicks from inside her, pressing against her hand. She smiled. It all felt so real now, especially being able to feel her move around.

Obviously her parents weren't overly impressed at the present but she knew that they'd come to get used to the idea. Everything felt right. She felt prepared and ready for her new responsibilities as a Parent.

Just as she was dozing off, she was disturbed by the vibrations of her mobile phone. She tapped the screen to read the notification, ' _Message from Mom'_.

Mia clicked on the message to read it in full,

' _Hi sweetie, I want to apologies for this morning. I understand this was a very big thing for you to tell us and it came as a very big shock. Your Dad is still quite upset but I have spoken to him. We would like it if both you and Chris could join us for dinner tomorrow evening so we can talk about it more. Please meet us at the Rose House tomorrow at 18:30. Love Mom x'_

Mia smiled to herself as she replied, ' _Hi Mom, that would be nice, we'll see you there x_ '

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A few hours later, Mia laid awake in bed, watching TV. Chris entered through the door and joined her. She moved closer into him resting her arm across his chest.

"My Mom messaged me earlier" She stated.

He looked down at her looking slightly glum, "Oh yeah?"

She smiled back up at him, "They want us to go to dinner with them tomorrow to talk about things"

Chris looked unsure, "Are you sure they meant me as well? I mean, I think your Dad made things…um, pretty clear"

Mia raised an eyebrow "Yes Chris, you as well. Please don't take all of that earlier to heart… He was just angry. Once he gets to know you, he'll realise that you're a good'un"

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The next evening Mia and Chris met both Mr and Mrs Treswell outside the front of The Rose House. They greeted each other cautiously before heading inside the building and over to a table.

An awkward silence hovered over the table for a few moments. Mr Treswell coughed to gather everyone's attention, "I would just like to apologise for my behaviour yesterday Morning. Especially to you Chris, it was unnecessary. I've now had the time to think things over and I over reacted at the situation at that time"

Mr Treswell smiled courteously "I'd like it if we were able to start over."

Chris nodded, "I would like that too"

Mia smiled up at him and squeezed his hand.

Once Mr Treswell had finished his apology, Mrs Treswell made no hesitation to make a start on the intended conversation.

"Mia, Sweetie. I can't help but notice that you have quite a bump there? How far along are you?" She asked.

"Just over twenty weeks. It was yesterday we had the scan…Hence the photo's" Mia smiled.

Mrs Treswell smiled at her daughter hesitating to ask the next question, "So… Do you know what you are having?"

Chris squeezed Mia's hand. He smiled proudly, "Yeah, we're having a little girl."

Mrs Treswell clapped her hands excitedly, "Aw Vincent, did you hear that. We're going to have a little granddaughter to spoil"

Mr Treswell smiled back at his wife, "Indeed, we are" His attention turned to Mia, "So when are you due?"

"The nurse said the 1st of September, so not too long to go" She said as he looked down at her stomach.

Mr Treswell too looked at her bump, "Not long at all… I understand that you both are excited and I don't want put a downer on things but I'm worried."

Both Mia and Chris looked over to Mr Treswell. He continued, "This is such a huge responsibility for such young people who are still in education. Your Mother and I aren't around the corner either…"

Mia cut him short, "Dad, I get why you're worried. Heck, I'm terrified but we've got so much support from the college and our friends. There's no arguing that it's going to be a huge challenge but we'll muddle through it,"

Mr Treswell sighed before Mia continued, "I promise Dad, I'll make you proud of who I have become"

Mr Treswell smiled softly at his daughter, "Well, your Mother and I are only a phone call away if you need any extra advice"

Mia smiled sweetly at both of her parents, "Thank you…anyway, I'm feeding two over here… Can we order now?"

The four spent the remainder of the evening discussing the future addition to the family and eating good food. The awkwardness and tension had lifted from the table to leave a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere in its place.


	17. Chapter 17- Not wanted

A few more weeks passed by, the days were getting longer and the spring break had finally arrived for Hartfeld College.

Mia walked over to the window. She opened it ajar to allow fresh air into the room before heading back to her suitcase to continue packing.

"We're only going for a couple days, you don't need to pack the whole room" Chris joked.

Mia pursed her lips into a tight smile "I've got to keep my options open when it comes to style"

He chuckled to himself as he zipped his case close, "AJ is really looking forwards to seeing you again,"

"Bless her, I better swat up on my comic book knowledge on the journey over then" Mia said finally zipping close her suitcase.

Chris smiled but soon became distracted by what Mia was wearing. His brow furrowed.

Mia raised an eyebrow, "Something wrong?"

Chris twisted his face and scratched awkwardly behind his head, "Nah…It's just that I know we were planning on telling my Mom but I want to tell her rather than her opening the door, seeing you and then her having a heart attack…"

Mia laughed as she looked down at her bump, "Alright, I'll put on a baggy jumper"

Mia went to her wardrobe and picked out a large, grey, hooded jumper. She slipped it on over her T-shirt and took a quick check in the mirror.

He walked over to her and kissed the top of her head, "Thank you"

She smiled at him sweetly then grabbed her case, "You ready?"

Chris smiled back at her as he closed shut the open window, "C'mon then"

The pair grabbed there cases and headed down the stairs and out of the front door.

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The journey lasted for a couple of hours before they arrived in Maine. Although, Mia's constant karaoke during that time made the journey feel a lot longer for Chris.  
The town where he was raised was fairly small and seemed peaceful. They pulled up on the drive of his family home and began to unload their luggage.

As soon as Chris placed his case onto the floor AJ ran out from inside the house leaping onto Chris's back, "OMG you're finally here"

"Wow, you feel like you've definitely got bigger since the last time you've jumped on me" He laughed

"Yeah, well, I've been eating my greens" She giggled

Chris put her back down onto the floor and pulled her into a hug, "That's what I like to hear. Now let's go and see Mom"

AJ darted back into the house calling out, "Mom! Mom! Chris is home"

He laughed and looked over to Mia who had a sweet smile on her face. Chris grabbed both of the cases and the pair made their way inside the house.

He left the bags on the inside of the front door and headed through to the kitchen. The house was smaller than what Mia imagined but it was cosy.

"Hi Mom," He called out as he opened the kitchen door.

"Hey sweetie," His Mom replied as she hurried over to him, she gave him a hug then turned to Mia.

"Aw Mia, I wasn't expecting you as well" She said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Chris's attention turned straight towards a familiar figure that stood at the back of the room, leant against the fridge.

The figure looked directly at him and edged forwards. Chris choked back a laugh and shook his head in disbelief.

"Hi Son," the figure spoke.

Mia looked between Chris and the man in the kitchen. There was a definite resemblance there, although one definitely seemed more pleased than the other.

Chris turned to his mother sharply, "What's he doing here?"

She looked over to Chris hesitating on what to say, "Your Dad is staying here for a couple of weeks whilst he's waiting for the keys to his new house"

He pulled her over to one side, his voice strained from frustration "Mom, he left us without even a word. Yet he turns up out of the blue and you're okay with it? Why didn't you call me? How long has he even been here?"

She looked back over her shoulder at her estranged husband then looked back over to Chris with a sigh, "No, I'm not okay with it… but everyone deserves a second chance. Chris, you of all people should understand that" she paused and let out another sigh, "At the end of the day, he's my children's father- Your father. Since he's been back, he's been a great help. He's really tried to prove himself plus AJ is overjoyed to finally have her Dad in her life. Kyle is slowly warming to him as well"

Chris pinched between his eyebrows, "Ten years…Ten years ago he walked out on us, Mom and we heard not even a word from him. He now thinks he can waltz on in and become our Dad again? Thankfully, he didn't get the chance to hurt AJ when he walked out as she was too young to even remember. Kyle was still very young and can probably only remember parts but me, I remember everything. I remember wondering where my Dad was, worried that he was hurt or worse and then eventually asking myself why we weren't good enough for him?"

His Mom just stood there, unsure of what to say, "Honey, I know that your upset but this isn't a long term fixture, only a few weeks-"

Before she even had chance to finish her sentence Chris snapped, "Yeah only a few more weeks until he vanishes into thin air again and hurts everyone around him!"

She went to put a reassuring hand onto his shoulder but he shook his head and stepped away from her, "I'm sorry, I cannot deal with this right now. I've already got enough to worry about"

He pushed passed her giving his father a cold glare as he exited the kitchen and vacated upstairs.

Mia still stood awkwardly in the door way of the kitchen. Chris's Mom quickly approached her, "I'm so sorry about all of this, my love. Would you like a drink?"

"Um, no thank you, Ms Powell. I'm alright for the moment" She replied

With that Ms Powell quickly vacated the room and made herself busy in the living area. Mia watched her for a few seconds before turning back to find the man in the kitchen approaching her.

He held his hand out and Mia gave it an uncertain shake, "Hi, I'm Frank. It's nice to meet you"

Mia smiled cautiously, "I'm Mia… Chris's girlfriend. It's nice to meet you too"

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Mia shuffled slightly to position herself as if she was about to leave the room "Y'know, I'm just going to check on Chris"

Frank nodded. With that Mia quickly turned on her heel and followed Chris's tracks.

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Mia lightly knocked on his door and then let herself in when she had no response. She found him sat up against the wall just staring into the air, his head was quite clearly racing with thoughts. Mia walked over and plopped down next to him, resting her head onto his shoulder. He turned his head to acknowledge her being there and gave her a weak smile.

She smiled back and spoke softly, "How are you holding up?"

He hesitated and sighed, "This was the last thing I expected. Just seeing him bought back so many emotions and memories. It messed me up as a kid, wondering why my own Dad didn't want me all of a sudden and what was wrong with me,"

Mia moved herself so she was straddling him, she cupped his face in her hands forcing him to look at her, "There's nothing wrong with you. You've achieved so much without him. We're all very proud of you"

Again, he weakly smiled, "Exactly, that's why I don't want him here in my life now. I also don't want him to hurt AJ and Kyle like he did with me and Mom"

Mia sighed, "I don't think you can make that decision for the rest of your family. I know you're just looking out for them but this is your Moms house and if she's happy for him to stay…then, you're just going to have to bear it for the next few days and be ready and there for them if things don't work out"

He stroked her cheek softly with the back of his hand, "I'll always be there for my family, which includes you"

He leant up and kissed her tenderly, and then pulling away with a more serious look in his eyes, "However, I don't want him having any part of our child's life. If he couldn't be a part of his own children's life, he doesn't deserve to be apart of his grandchildren's life"

Mia could still see the hurt in his eye's as he relived the emotions of his childhood, she leant against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in closer. To him, Mia was like a safety net. She was always there to catch him and pull him together when he was about to break. They remained like this for around twenty more minutes, just cuddled up in each others arms. Mia could see him processing everything in his mind.

Chris's voice slightly cracked as he loosened his grip around her, "Do you think I should give him a chance as well?"

Mia smiled up at him, "That's a choice for you to make… I think for the sake of AJ, you should at least be civil whilst we're here. You never know, he may surprise you"

Chris smiled back and landed another kiss onto her lips, "I think I can do that"

The pair spent an hour or so more alone together before eventually heading back downstairs to rejoin the rest of the family in attempt to enjoy the remainder of the afternoon and evening.


	18. Chapter 18 - To good to be true

As Chris and Mia joined the rest of the family who were all sat in the living area. The atmosphere remained tense and conversations didn't consist of much other than small talk. Mia sat quietly next to Chris, unsure on what to say. After a few uncomfortable minutes, AJ soon broke the silence as she bounded into the room.

She squeezed herself onto the couch next to Chris and looked at him with a huge grin.

"What are you grinning at?" He chuckled.

"Look," She responded as she pulled out a small hand made kite from behind her back.

"Where did you get this from?" He asked inquisitively as he took it from her to have a closer look.

The kite was around the size of a sheet of paper and was made from a red fabric. It was pretty well made and sturdy, not that he would admit out loud.

"Dad made it for me the other day. Isn't it cool?" She beamed.

Chris forced a smile onto his face and handed the kite back to her almost immediately, "Yeah, very. Maybe we should try it out sometime?"

AJ continued to grin, "Yay! Only if Dad can come as well"

Mia subtly placed her hand onto his shoulder to remind his of the conversation they had upstairs. His face hardened but soon softened as he felt her touch. He was then met with his mother's glare.

"Yeah, sure. Why not…"

The evening slowly progressed and eventually the younger siblings made there way to bed. This left only Frank, Chris, his Mom and Mia in the living area. The atmosphere once again became uncomfortable and tense as soon as AJ was out of sight.

Frank looked towards the stair case and smiled, "You're little sister thinks a lot of you, do you know that?"

Chris nodded, refusing to make eye contact. Mia silently sighed.

Frank paused for a moment to see if he could get any sort of verbal response but then continued once he realised that it wasn't going to happen, "You're all she ever talks about"

Chris could see his Moms face turn to a warm smile as his Dad spoke, although he tried, he could not help but make a small snide remark, "Well, she had to have someone to look up to. It's not like you were around to be a respectable role model"

His Mom gasped loudly and her voice became stern, "Christopher!"

"Barb, leave it" Frank sighed.

Chris stood up and turned towards Mia, rubbing his face, "I think I've had enough family time now. I'm going to head up to bed, you coming?"

She nodded and stood with him.

"Chris, wait." Frank called out.

He turned with a raised eyebrow in response and took hold of Mia's hand, "I said I'm going to bed"

Frank sighed deeply, "Please can I talk to you in private for five minutes?"

Chris tightened his grip around Mia's hand, "Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Mia as well"

Frank nodded, "Very well"

He led both Chris and Mia into the kitchen and shut the door behind. He started with another sigh, "I completely understand why you don't want me here and I also get that today was a bit of a shock"

Chris scoffed as he rolled his eye's "A bit?"

Frank cleared his throat and continued, "But I need you to understand why I did what I did"

Mia squeezed Chris's hand as she felt him tense, he relaxed a little and nodded, "I'm listening"

Frank took a deep breath in, "Things were hard at the time. Me and your Mom had you at such a young age. This meant we didn't have the money to save up to give you this amazing life. Then just as we paid off everything and started to save up, Kyle came along and then AJ. Shortly after AJ was born, I then became redundant in my job. Not enough money was coming in and I felt useless… I was unable to give you, your siblings and your Mom the life you deserved," He took a gulp in between before continuing, "I thought that if I left. You're Mom would find someone more suitable and could give you the life you all deserved… I realised after I left that I made a huge mistake and I've regretted it ever since but I let my pride take over and I couldn't find it in me to face you all again"

Chris's face hardened "You mean you gave up trying to be our Dad? It's not exactly my fault you had me young, is it?"

Mia stood still holding her breath. Chris could see her out the corner of his eye, "I mean, there are plenty of young parents out there…plus you weren't even that young"

Frank sighed, "I know it looks that way but it was not my intention to give up being your dad. Plus I no way is any of this your fault, son and I'm not blaming you. I loved you from the moment you were born and same goes for you brother and sister"

There was a moment of silence which allowed Mia a small time to say what she needed.

"I know this is not really any of my business but do you understand how much of an effect you leaving out of the blue had on Chris throughout growing up?"

Frank looked from Mia over to Chris, his brow furrowed, "You're Mom filled me in on most of it…"

Chris hung his head in shame as he knew what his Father was referring too. Mia placed her hand on his shoulder for reassurance.

Frank noticed the shameful look on his face and continued, "Son, everyone makes mistakes. I blame myself, I should have been there to guide you and I wasn't… but look at all the amazing things you've also achieved"

"I'm proud of you. You've turned out well and you've achieved that on your own" He smiled proudly.

Chris began to perk up a little, "I can't take all the credit, Mom did a god job" He looked towards Mia and wrapped his arm around her waist, "and I definitely wouldn't be where I am today without this one,"

Mia looked up to him with a glisten in her eye. He responded by kissing the top of her head.

Frank smiled, "I'm happy that you've found someone special" he paused for a moment before continuing "I know I have a long way to go before I gain your trust but I do want to be back in your life… for good. I was thinking that since you are here for a few more days, we could do with some family bonding?"

Chris slowly began to relax, he looked towards Mia and then his Dad with a smile on his face "Sure, I'd like that"

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The next few days were long and full of various activities such as going to the zoo, cinema and even going to watch the local football team play. The once tense atmosphere has almost vanished. Of course Chris and Mia remained wary of Frank but it was still early days.

It was late one evening; Mia and Chris were laid side by side in bed whilst watching TV.

Mia turned to him with questionable smile and rested her chin on his shoulder. He smiled cautiously back at her, "What are you smiling at?"

"You quite like having your Dad around, don't you?" She asked

He narrowed his eyes slightly and smirked, "I guess it's been nice but he's got a while to go yet before he's in the clear"

She continued to smile up at him, "Does that mean there may be a chance that you _could_ change your mind and allow him to be the little one's granddad?"

He sat up slightly, propping himself up against the back board, as did Mia. He tilted his head slightly and smiled softly as he tucked Mia's hair behind her ears, "Maybe… We still need to tell them first"

A concerned look became apparent on Mia's face, "We're on day four now, and we go back in two days…When are you planning on telling them?"

"Tomorrow, Mom's cooking everyone a meal in the evening. I'll tell them then"

Mia's concerned expression softened into a sweet smile. He leant down and planted a trusting kiss onto her lips, cupping her face with his hand.

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The next evening soon arrived. Mia's nerves had been all over the place throughout the day. Chris took hold of her hand before they joined the rest of the family, he kissed her forehead, "You look terrified"

She sighed, "I am"

He chuckled and pulled her towards his chest, wrapping his arms around her, "I knew I shouldn't have said when I was going to tell them," He pulled back and looked her in the eye, "It'll be fine. We've got each other, remember that"

He planted one final kiss onto her lips before taking her hand and pulling her downstairs.

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Everyone sat around the dining room table waiting for their evening meal to be served. Barb, laid out a number of different dishes across the table, allowing everyone to choose what they want to eat. Everyone tucked in and conversation flowed well.

AJ flicked a pea over onto Kyle's plate, which sparked a small food fight across the table.

"AJ! Kyle! Manners please" Their Mother abruptly spoke from across the table.

The food quite quickly stopped from being launched across the room. Chris then took it upon himself to flick a piece of corn at AJ's head.

Barb shook her head, "Chris, how old are you?"

He laughed then took hold of Mia's hand from under the table, "Actually, I've got something I need to tell you, Mom"

He gave Mia a reassuring smile before turning back towards his Mom. She had an eyebrow raised, expecting him to come out with something witty.

Mia felt her stomach turn; she gripped Chris's hand tighter as he began to speak.

He took a deep breath "Mom… You're going to be a grandma"

He watched as his Mother's jaw dropped, "I'm sorry, what?"

Chris didn't say anything more he just nodded whilst trying to remain confident.

AJ spun around on her seat with a face of excitement, she gasped, "Is Mia having a baby? Does that mean I'm going to be an aunty?"

"Yeah, It does" He said a smile grew on his face as he took note of her excitement.

She jumped down from her chair and wrapped her arms around her brothers neck, "Oh my days. I'm so excited"

He chuckled and then cautiously looked back over to his Mother, who seemed to have composed herself.

"I mean, I'm shocked but wow, just wow" She left her seat and gave Mia a hug, "Congratulations, sweetie"

Frank remained sat at the table keeping himself reserved from the conversation. Chris was quick to notice and was just as quick to say something, "Dad?"

Frank rubbed his forehead, "Son, have you even thought this through?"

Chris hesitated, "Well, I – this wasn't planned, no but we've talked about it a lot"

Frank sighed, "This is a huge responsibility…"

Chris's defence went straight up, his brow furrowed, "What's your point?"

His Dad sighed again and pinched between his brow, " Son, I know that in the past year you have made a lot of achievements but from what your Mother has said you don't always… think. Like I said, a baby is a huge responsibility. Do you seriously think you're responsible enough?"

Mia stood up, her face scowled, "Excuse me?"

Chris gently placed his hand onto her shoulder to calm her down before snapping, "Let me get this straight. You disappear from my life for almost ten years, turn up out of the blue and try and judge me on stuff you know absolutely nothing about?"

"Son, your criminal record doesn't exactly look good" Frank stated

He felt himself tense, through gritted teeth he spoke "Like I said, stuff you know nothing about. All that happened a long time ago. You have no right to call me out on anything!"

Frank remained composed "Two years isn't that long a time"

Chris shook his head, "You know maybe you're right but I can sure tell you what a long time is. Ten fucking years, is a long time. Maybe if you weren't such a coward and didn't run off without a word, I may have had a chance at a normal life!"

Barb reached out to him, again he shunted her off, "No, Mom. What more can I do, I've sorted myself out, I've tried to forgive him over the last few days and now he feels the need to drag up the past? He wasn't even there!"

Frank raised his voice, "What I am trying to say is that we are not that different!"

"Not that different? I don't abandon the people I apparently love!" he paused for a bit and looked towards Mia, "Mia, we're leaving, come on"

He went to walk out the room when frank called out to him. Chris turned to look at him one final time, "I've made it this far without you, Dad and I've decided I don't want you back in mine or to be in my daughter's life. Bye Dad"

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Mia took hold of his hand as they left for the car, he turned to her squeezing her hand a little tighter, "I'm sorry"

She looked up at him, "Hey, at least you won't have to deal with him again. All that, back then, it was so uncalled for"

Chris felt himself emotionally drop, "Why couldn't he just be happy for me. Am I always going to be judged on those few bad decisions?"

Mia halted and pulled Chris around to face her, "I don't judge you"

A small smile crept onto his face, "I guess that's all that matters. What did I ever do to deserve you?"

She grinned at him, "You made a good decision, that's what you did"

He chuckled to himself then leant down to give her a kiss, he pulled away and smiled, "I definitely did make a good decision"

She smiled back "and for the record, I think you're going to be an amazing Dad"

 **Author note:** _Hello readers, I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all the reviews that have been left so far. Thank you_


	19. Chapter 19 - Judgement day

The next few months passed quickly. The summer had arrived at Hartfeld and college had finished for the summer break. Mia and the other house mates had worked endlessly to fight to save Professor Vasquez's house. The day had finally arrived to prove the worth of the house to the courts and face Mr Delacroix in front of the judge. It had been a long few weeks putting together the perfect case to preserve the property, looking into every loop hole that may come up and working out how to overcome any obstacles Mr Delacroix may put up.

Mia rummaged through her wardrobe, picking out a smart cotton shirt and navy blazer. She carefully buttoned up the shirt, which just about stretched over her enlarged abdomen. She sighed deeply as she slipped into a navy pencil skirt which too laid tight over her bump.

She turned to Chris who sat on the bed behind her, her face scrunched. He looked up at her with a warm smile, "What's the matter?"

Mia sighed again, "I feel like a whale" she paused to look at herself in the mirror, her eye's concentration on the button on her shirt that was clinging on for dear life to the opposite piece of fabric, "I barely fit into anything that's smart enough for today"

Chris stood up and walked over to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and too looked at her in the mirror, before nuzzling into her neck "You look beautiful"

A small smile crept across her face, "I still feel like a whale"

He chuckled, "Well if that's the case, you're the most beautiful whale I've ever seen"

Mia rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh, "You're such a charmer"

He gave her a cheeky wink and passed her blazer. She slipped it on over the shirt and buttoned it up, covering the stretched buttons underneath.

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Mia entered the living area where the other house mates and a few other supporters waited patiently. Reyna quickly hurried over to her handing her a pile of papers filled with notes.

"Here, I've written some notes regarding some critical topics that need brining up to help the case and of course Mia, I trust you to have some of your own material" Reyna smiled anxiously.

Mia's eyes widened at the load she'd been given, "Wow Reyna, thank you. I see you've put a lot of effort into this"

Reyna nodded, "Uh-huh, preparation and organisation is the key to success plus you're a good friend, Mia and I wanted to help you and you're friends out to the best of my ability"

Mia smiled back at her warmly, "Thank you Reyna, it's really appreciated by all of us" her eyebrow raised as she took another glance at the stack of notes, "So these topic notes…are they stuff I already know?"

Reyna gave her a reassuring smile back, "Don't panic, it's all stuff we've already discussed. The notes are just there to remind you if you get a little lost"

She gave Mia a final pat on the shoulder to reassure her, then took a step back.

Mia stood reserved by the stairs whilst the others mingled in conversation with each other. Zack was soon to notice Mia, who was stood quietly on her own. He slowly approached her and tapped her shoulder. She jumped as she snapped out from her thoughts.

Zack raised an eyebrow, "Hey, are you okay? You seem a little quiet"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. Well, a little anxious…there's a lot at stake today. I'm just trying to rehearse in my head what my opening is going to be,"

The corner of Zack's mouth curved, "If you need a little help today, I'm happy to come up with you"

Mia looked at him sweetly, "Thank you...but this feels like something I need to do alone"

Zack smiled at her and gave a small nod to respect her decision. He paused as he momentarily looked down towards the bump, "Not long to go now then?"

Mia gave a nervous giggle as she placed a hand over the centre of her stomach. Her nervous giggle soon turned to a warm smile that lit up her face, "About a month to go"

Zack grinned as he noticed her face light up, "Excited?"

She smirked as her eye's searched the room for Chris, who was deep in conversation with Zig at that point, most likely something football related. Zack turned his head to see what she was smirking at, as soon as he realised that her focus was on Chris he turned back to her, his eyebrow cocked.

Mia let out a small laugh as she focused back on Zack and his question, "Excited, terrified, happy…So many emotions" Her eyes briefly wandered back over Chris before she finished what she was saying, "It's going to be a whole new chapter for us"

Zack smirked, "Who would have thought, aye? This time, just under two years ago you guys were _'secretly'_ hooking up for 'fun' trying to tell us that you didn't care for each other like that and now look at you, power couple of the college"

Mia bit down on her bottom lip as she remembered back to those days, she suddenly snapped to realisation and her cheeks became flushed, "Wait… You guys knew?"

Zack burst out into a fit of laughter, "Girl, we all lived under the same roof, there was not the space for _secret_ flings…plus there were numerous occasions where Kaitlyn had gone to wake you up on a morning and you were not in _your_ room and your bed was definitely not slept in…"

She grinned at him and gave him a small wink, "Damn, I thought we did pretty well at hiding that"

Zack winked back at her, "Sweetie, nothing gets past me. I'm the love guru after all"

She playfully pushed his shoulder as he chuckled to himself.

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It wasn't much longer after, that they arrived at the courts. Mia took a deep breath as she took her place on the stand. She looked around the large room that was filled with various officials and supporters, many that she recognised from around Hartfeld.

Her eyes locked with Chris's as she scanned the crowd. He gave her a confident smile for reassurance as the judge joined both her and Mr Delacroix.

The judge introduced the case and all the basic details to the crowd in front of them so they all had some sort of understanding. It was soon time for Mia to make her opening speech. Her eyes quickly scanned over the notes, she could feel her breathing and heart rate quicken as she recited her words in her head. She took a deep breath.

"I am here today to fight for the proposal of turning this house into a historical monument" She paused as she let her anxieties leave her, "This house once belonged to someone who touched so many lives with his writing and even in person. Mr Vasquez was and still is an inspiration to the generation of today. His books were all based on real events that reach out to its reader allowing them to relate to the plot. This man was a prodigy when it came to writing. A prodigy that should not be allowed to be forgotten"

Mr Delacroix was quick to fire back with an argument that proved his Mall to improve the economy and to reduce anti-social behaviour in North Bridge as it created more jobs and would give the younger generation a place to 'hang out'

Mia coughed for attention, "That may be the case but how many malls does one city need? I mean there is a Mall not to far away from here that is easily accessible by bus and surely the construction of the Mall itself would be costing Millions of Dollars that could be used in the city else where? There are many Malls but there was only one Enrique Vasquez"

Mr Delacroix scowled, "I don't understand why you kids are so caught up on this. It's an old decrepit house that is on the brink of falling apart" His scowl turned into a smirk as he called his son up onto the stand, "This is my Son, who has visited the house multiple times and has been able to first handily observe the instability of the house"

Mia's face dropped as she watched Sebastian enter the stage and join his Father's side. She shook her head in disappointment as his father pushed him to take his side.

She couldn't help herself and had to call him out, "Really Sebastian? I thought we cleared the air?"

Sebastian's face dropped. The judge was quick to interfere before Mia continued, "Let's keep this professional. Any personal matters are not to be resolved here today"

Before Sebastian even had the chance to back his father up, Mia was quick to jump in to give her response to Mr Delacroix, "This is more that an old decrepit house. Me and my friends have spent the year restoring its natural beauty. In fact, we have fully passed the most recent inspection. You wouldn't understand if you've never spent the time to admire the building but if you just spent even an hour in there the inspiration spreads to you. Years of memories and stories have been created in that very house and it deserves a small space in the history books"

Mr Delacroix smirked smugly and looked to his Son for him to give his speech. Sebastian looked between his father and Mia before sighing deeply, "Sorry Dad, but I need to stand with Mia on this one. This house belonged to one of the greatest writers of our time. As Mia stated, it deserves a small space in the history books."

He looked over to Mia and nodded at her. Mia responded with a relieved grin that spread across her face.

The argument went on for around another half and hour before the judge intervened and announced that he will be making his decision shortly after he speaks to the rest of the panel to come to an agreement. Although the talk only lasted a few minutes it felt like a life time. Mia shuffled anxiously on the spot as she waited for the verdict.

Finally the judge returned to his post to announce his final verdict, "I am here to announce that another meet will not be required and I have therefore made my final decision on today's case. Taking into account both side's argument, I have decided that Mr Vasquez house is to be made into a Historical Monument"

Mia's face beamed as the news hit her ears. The judge continued, "Now obviously once listed as a Historical Monument, the house will not be open for residents and therefore all existing residents will need to be re-housed"

The crowd applauded as the judge left the stand allowing everyone to leave. Chris immediately jumped onto the stand, scooping Mia up into his arms. She giggled as he span her around. He finally put her down and rested his forehead against hers, "I'm proud of you, baby. All of that hard work paid off" He tilted her head up and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She smiled against his lips as she felt the presence of the other housemates and close friends surrounding them.

"Ugh, enough of the lovey-dovey stuff. We've got a party to host!" Becca grinned

Mia looked at her confused, "A party? But you've only just found out that we've done it?"

Chris tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "Nah, we knew you'd pull it off"

He took her hand and pulled her towards the exit of the building closely followed by the others.

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The party was large as all the supporters joined them for the house's final college party. Becca had quite obviously gone all out on part decorations, it looked amazing. The music was played loud and everyone danced the night away, enjoying their final moments inside the house.

Mia stood around admiring the effort that had put into the celebration. She was suddenly disrupted from her daydream by a pair of arms wrapping around her waist. She grinned as Chris nuzzled into her neck, "Hey, can I have a word…In private?"

She turned to him and nodded as she took his hand and lead him upstairs. Once upstairs he took her into her room and switched the lights on dimly, giving the room a warm, cosy atmosphere. He turned to face her holding both her hands in his, "So there's something I've needed to ask you… for quite a while now…"

She nodded to encourage him to carry on. He smiled nervously before continuing, "Well since we can't stay here and we do now have a baby on the way…very soon…If you want to, we could y'know… find a place together?" He paused and his brow furrowed, "I mean like just us two…and only if you are okay with that"

Mia's eyes grew big and a sweet smile crept across her face, "You're so cute when you're nervous"

He chuckled quietly to himself, still holding his breath for her response, "So, do I get an answer?"

She stood on her tip toes and cupped her hands around his face, pressing a loving kiss to his lips, "Sure thing, captain." she whispered.

His body relaxed and he enclosed her petite frame into an embrace, "We're gonna be a proper little family now" She smiled against his chest.

He ran his fingers slowly through her soft, brunette hair as he held her close, "Just me and two of the most important girls in my life"

His words sent warm shivers through her. She thought back to what Zack had said to her earlier. _Who would have thought?_

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The couple spent a little more time enjoying each others company in privacy whilst the party began to unwind down stairs.

Chris kissed the top of her forehead as she pulled back to look into his blue eyes, "We should probably head back down stairs before a search party is sent for us"

He chuckled to himself and he sat up, pulling her up with him. They both ventured downstairs to find the house almost empty.

"Where'd everyone go?" Mia asked as she looked around

Tyler smiled, "Well we thought we'd have a more public celebration first and then our own private one after"

Abbie chimed in shortly after, "We've booked a table at the new smoke house in North Bridge. If we take our car and Zack takes the van we should be able to get everyone down there?"

Everyone agreed amongst themselves.

"I can fit another person in my car" Tyler announced

Chris was quick to take up the offer since he hadn't had much of an opportunity to catch up with Tyler with all the past drama surrounding him and Abbie.

"No problem" Tyler smiled, his brow furrowed "Although, I doubt there's going to be room for Mia as well. I kinda need to clean out my car"

Mia placed a hand on Chris's shoulder and responded for him, "No problem, I'll jump in with Zack"

Chris turned to her, "You sure?"

She smirked at him and kissed his cheek, "It's only a car ride, you're not moving in with them, babe"

He chuckled as he turned to grab his coat of the banister, "I'll see you when we get there"

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The roads where busy as they headed through the centre of North Bridge. The lights seemed to be red more than they did green. Mia looked out the window admiring the cities light illuminate the night sky. Mean while Zacks road rage began to kick in,

"Pissing traffic lights" He hissed.

With that Mia's mobile vibrated:

Abbie: Hey, Tyler knows a short cut. Follow us xx

Mia reached over to the driver's seat and nudged Zack, showing him the text message. He nodded as he indicated to turn left down the alley way that Tyler had just gone.

They followed the road that appeared to lead them deeper and deeper into the country side. Mia watched as they left the bustling city life behind.

Zack's brow furrowed, "Where on earth are we going. It's so dark"

Mia shrugged, "I trust Tyler to know what he's doing"

They continued to follow the never ending road for a few more minutes, each yard of the road became darker and darker, before long the only light was that reflecting from the moon and a singular traffic light that shone ahead.

"Thank god for that, an end to this never ending road" Zack mumbled to him self

The others in the back chuckled to them selves.

Mia smiled pointing out the traffic light ahead, "The traffic light is even green for us"

Everyone in the van watched as Tyler went to exit the junction. Mia gasped as from out of nowhere a silver sports car drove straight at them, with no signs of it slowing it crashed straight into the driver's side of Tyler's car, sending it flying across the road.

All Mia could do was watch as it happened. Observe the collision as it crushed the side of the car, making it flip. Shards of glass and metal spread across the tarmac. It was like she watched it in slow motion, every detail engraved into her mind as she held her breath.

"What the Fuu- Shiiiit" Zack screeched as he let go of the steering wheel.

"Oh shit, shit, shit. Pull over! ZACK, PULL OVER!" Mia screamed as panic took over, sending feelings of nausea and fear shooting through her body…


	20. Chapter 20 - A matter of life and death

Zack slammed his foot onto the breaks. The old van screeched to a sudden stop throwing each passenger forwards and then back against the backs of their seats. Before the vehicle had fully come to a halt, Mia had already unbuckled her belt and grabbed for the car door. She hastily exited the van, stepping out onto the cold tarmac. Her nose filled with the chemically bitter smell from a mixture of burning rubber, fumes and leaking fuel as she inhaled.

She looked around. The floor beneath her was traced with heavy black tyre tracks, shards of metal and glass that shimmered beneath the late night moon. The night sky was slowly filling with plumes of smoke that radiated from the wreckage of the car.

Her gaze moved onto the car. Its driver side was now completely concaved; every square inch of the metal was buckled out of shape. The right side of the bonnet had been crushed beyond repair and the front screen had shattered. A glistening puddle of oil formed on the concrete beneath the vehicle.

Although this observation of her surroundings felt like hours she was merely stood there seconds before she sprinted up to the wreckage. It seemed lifeless; there was no noise, not even a murmur. A sickening sensation ran through her body, churning her stomach as she prepared herself for the worse as she approached the car.

"Chris?" She called out, her voice cracking.

No response. Her chest constricted as she fought back the chilling fear that was overtaking her. She took in a deep breathe as with all her physical and internal strength, she forced the rear driver door open. Everything around her became a blur, her mind was so lost in the moment she failed to realise the others rushing around her in attempt to drag Tyler's unconscious body from the wreckage.

As she heaved the door open, it fell from its hinges, crashing to the ground. The crash didn't faze her at all as she peered into the inside of the remains of the car. He was alive. That's all that mattered to her.

Chris sat ever so still, staring dazed towards the front of the car, his head rested back against the head rest. Mia let out a sudden sigh of relief; the fear leaving her body caused a stream of salty tears streaming down her cheeks.

She observed him as he seemed almost oblivious to her presence. His breathing was off, very quick and heavy one minute then slow and light the next. She placed her hand upon his shoulder and felt him tremble beneath her touch. His eye's fluttered as he tried to stop himself from losing consciousness.

"Chris?" Mia called out to him soothingly, although her voice still quivered slightly.

She watched as he jumped back ever so slightly. His eyes darted over to her as he re-engaged with reality. His breathing gradually began to regulate as he recognised the girl that was crouched down beside him.

He attempted to turn his body towards her but winced as he tried, still slightly dazed and confused his panic grew.

Mia's grasp of his shoulder became firmer as she felt his heart rate rise, "Sweetie, you've got to stay still a minute. Please…"

She jumped as another figure stood over her. She let go of Chris's shoulder momentarily to see who had joined her. As she went to look up, Zig crouched down to her level. Clearly concerned he looked Mia in the eye,

"Mia, we need to get him out of there. There's a fuel leak, one spark and this thing is going up in flames" He stated very matter of fact.

Mia gasped. She paused and looked around, finally noticing that both Tyler and Abbie had already been pulled from the wreckage. She watched as Abbie broke down in Kaitlyn's arms as they sat on the side of the curb. Everyone else's attention was purely focused on Tyler, who was lifelessly lead out on the tarmac a good distance away from the car. More tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked back to Zig and nodded her head.

It didn't take long for Zig to force the front seat forwards to release Chris's legs. With that Mia took one side and Zig took the other to help and guide him out and away from car. Once they reached a grass verge Mia carefully sat him down as Zig jogged back over to where Tyler was lead. Chris slumped against Mia as she sat down to join him, his head rested in the crook of her neck.

She ran her fingers through his hair gently calming him. She cautiously pulled her hand away as she felt a strange warm dampness on her fingers. She held her hand up to the moon light to see what it was. She tried not to panic once she realised it was in fact blood.

"What's wrong?" He mumbled into her neck.

She gulped back and continued to run her fingers through his hair, "Nothing, don't worry. It's just really important you don't fall asleep right now, at least not until the ambulance arrives"

He looked up at her confused. She tried to reassure him with a weak smile but he turned his head to overlook the scene he'd just been removed from. She could almost feel his face drop as he overlooked the sight. He didn't say a word, his entire body tensed.

He turned back to Mia and ran his own hand through his hair. He hesitated as he felt the same warm dampness stick to his fingers. He held the same hand out in front of him and looked at the blood smeared across his palms.

As if on queue the sound of sirens could be heard quickly approaching the scene. Mia looked up to the heavens and sighed a deep sigh of relief as she knew help was finally here.

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The paramedic held a hand out to Mia, to help her into the back of the ambulance. Her eyes had become so used to the dim lighting from the past hour she felt blinded by the artificial lights from the interior. She quickly hurried to Chris's side as they began the journey to the hospital. She intertwined her fingers around his, earning her a loving smile.

His smile turned to a face filled with concern, his voice cracked as he attempted to speak, "Babe, you shouldn't have been out there. You should have stayed out of the way"

She ran her hand across his forehead moving the hair off his face, "I wasn't going to leave you"

His expression remained concerned, "But the smoke and the fumes could harm the baby, I couldn't live with myself if anything h-"

Mia put a single finger over her lips to silence him, her other hand cradled her bump, "Hey, hey. We're fine, I promise" She whispered soothingly.

He smiled weakly at her and let out a deep sigh. Mia reached for his hand again and smiled back at him, "I've um, called your Mom before we set off. She's left your Sister and Brother with your Aunty. She's on her way to the hospital now. She's going to call me when she gets here"

His smile remained weak as he spoke, "Thank you"

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After a journey that felt like a life time, the ambulance finally pulled into the hospital. The cool crisp air from the night hit against Mia's arms causing her to shiver slightly as the back doors of the ambulance opened up. The paramedics quickly rushed Chris inside, leaving Mia to wait patiently in the waiting area.

Again, the wait felt like it was never ending. A million scenarios's played out in her head making her restless as her anxiety grew. She was eventually snapped away from her thoughts when a nurse approached her.

The nurse's face was caring and warm. She smiled down to Mia, "Mrs Powell?" She asked.

Mia's brow furrowed slightly as she went to open her mouth and correct the nurse that stood in front of her. She then looked down to her bump and realised that it was an easy assumption to be made. Mia decided against arguing it and instead looked to the nurse with a warm smile "Yes"

"You're the first person he asked for, follow me and I'll take you down to him" The nurse explained gesturing for Mia to follow her.

Mia followed the nurse through the hospitals corridors which eventually lead to a private room. Before entering, the nurse turned back to Mia, "I should let you know that Chris will be kept here for tonight, but will be moved to another ward tomorrow"

Mia nodded and raised an eyebrow, "Do you know how long he'll have to stay here for?"

The nurse put her hand on Mia's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile, "The doctor wants to run a few test. After all, it was a pretty nasty scene and if anything was wrong, we'd want to pick up on it right away. If everything goes straight forwards, he should be discharged in a few days"

Mia smiled back at the nurse who was now holding the door open for her to enter. Mia mouthed the words 'thank you' to the nurse before entering the room.

She quietly walked over to the chair that was situated next to the hospital bed. She plopped down into it and reached over to run her fingers through Chris's hair. He was facing away from her, unaware of her presence. She felt him shiver beneath her finger tips as she continued to run her fingers. Slowly he turned to her, wincing ever so slightly as he did. His face soon softened as his gaze met Mia's.

"Hey, beautiful" He spoke, his voice was raspy as if he had just woken up.

She grinned back, her voice hushed to almost a whisper as she spoke back, "Hey, captain"

He chuckled slightly. The couples nicknames seemed to be something that had occurred only recently but never the less they stuck and flowed nicely as they spoke to each other.

Mia's grinned turned to a sweetened smile, "How are you feeling"

He rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn before smiling back at her "A little rough, I'm not going to lie"

She laughed over how casually his response to her question was, "Just a little?"

He laughed back as he realised himself how casual it came out, "Okay, I feel like pure shite" He corrected.

His face softened and he reached out for Mia's hand, squeezing it lightly, "But… I feel a hell of a lot better now that you're here with me"

She smiled warmly at him, feeling herself melt into his words. Her mind sped back to when the nurse approached her in the waiting area. She arched an eyebrow and leant in close to him.

"When the nurse came to get me, she thought we were married." She stated to him before expressing her opinion on the matter. "I think she just assumed we were because I'm pregnant, I didn't know what to say so I just kinda went along with it"

He looked at her wide-eyed before he nervously chuckled to himself "Ay - uh, yeah…that may have been my fault"

She looked at him curiously waiting for him to explain.

He scratched the base of his head as he normally did in awkward situations, "So um, they were taking far too much time rushing about and I wasn't overly impressed that they wouldn't let you in. I knew you would be worried and I wanted you to see that I was okay" He paused for a brief moment, again scratching the base of his neck, "After a little while, I snapped and it came out something along the lines of ' _If you don't let my misses in, with in the next few minutes, I am going to get up and find her myself'_ so yeah… when I speak with the guys, its normal for us to refer to our other half as the 'misses'… apparently if you say that in a hospital, they assume you are literally married"

Mia let out a laugh as she absorbed his story, her face changing to a nervous smile as she responded, "I quite liked it… Mrs Powell"

He laughed and squeezed her hand, "Mrs Mia Powell does sound pretty good, if I say so myself" He paused and winked at her "One day, baby, one day"

She felt her stomach do little somersaults with his last addition to his sentence. She felt her self blushing at the thought. He reached his hand up to rub the redness that was appearing on her cheeks, "Nearly two years on and I still have to ability to make you blush"

She giggled and playfully swatted his hand away from her face, "You charmer"

He grinned at her, his face softened as he noticed how tired her eyes looked, "Baby, you look knackered. Why don't you go back to the house and have a sleep?"

Her face dropped slightly, "I don't want to leave you,"

He sighed as again he reached up to rub her cheek, "You need sleep though and you're not going to get much whilst you're here"

Mia rolled her eyes before her gaze once again met his, the corner of her lips curved, "Fine, I'll go back once your Mom gets here… so at least you won't be on your own"

Chris let go of her cheek and shuffled himself to one side of the hospital bed, leaving a gap just big enough for Mia to snuggle up next to him. He patted the sheets beside him, inviting Mia to join. She smiled sweetly as she pushed herself away from the chair. She climbed up onto the bed and laid herself up against his side, her head rested on his chest as her arm draped around his waist. He smiled down at her as he begain to stroke her hair.

"Have you heard anything regarding the others?" Chris asked swallowing back a hard lump as he vaguely remembered Tyler's unconscious body laid across the road.

She sighed heavily, "Abbie's doing okay, her injuries seem to be fairly superficial. She's just very shaken up and doesn't want to see anyone apart from her sister and Mom at the moment. I don't know about Tyler though. I sent a text to Kaitlyn whilst I was waiting. The hospital advised them to go on home and they would call them if there were any updates"

Chris wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her forehead as he felt her begin to sniffle, "Hey, everything's going to be okay…"

The couple remained entangled in each others warmth as they both eventually drifted of to sleep. Neither were sure of how long they were asleep for before they were awoken by Chris's Mom entering the room.

"Sweetie" She called out as she rushed to her eldest son's side.

Mia stayed around for another half hour or so as they explained to his Mom in more detail about what happened. After, Mia bid her goodbyes and headed back to the house for some rest.

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Mia had only managed a few more hours of sleep before the summer morning light pierced through her thin curtains and spilt onto her face. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms out and to the side. She let out a sigh as she turned over and knew Chris wasn't by her side. Slowly, she sat up onto the side of her bed. Her brow furrowed as an uneasy sensation travelled through her body. She gulped back and slowly walked towards the bathroom.

She ran the tap to fill the sink. She genuinely felt discomfort throughout her body but was unable to pin point exactly what was feeling uncomfortable. She looked at herself in the mirror that was hung just above the sink. She prodded at the bags beneath her eyes and sighed.

'That's probably why I feel odd. Stressed and tired' She thought to herself as she began to splash her face with the warm water in the sink.

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Before long, Mia was back at the hospital next to Chris's side.

He looked much better today, the colour had returned to his cheeks and the sparkle in his eyes. He reached out for Mia's hand as she sat herself down on the chair,

"Good morning, didn't think you'd be up so early"

Mia smiled sweetly at him, "Well, it's difficult to sleep knowing you're not next to me"

He chuckled at her response, "Now who's the charmer?"

She laughed as she looked around the room, "Where's your Mom?"

Chris sat himself up against the pillow, again he winced but it was more movement than the previous night, "You just missed her. She had to get back for AJ and Kyle"

Mia nodded her mouth gaped open slightly. There was a few moments of silence which earned her a look of concern from Chris, "You sure you're okay, baby?"

She shrugged as she rubbed her eyes, "I just feel a bit…weird. It's difficult to explain, I think its just the stress of last night and the lack of sleep"

Again he reached for her hand and rubbed is thumb over the back of it, "Just take it easy, beautiful, okay?"

She smiled at him sweetly and nodded her head to agree. He smiled back at her for a few moments before the concerned look reappeared on his face, "Have you heard anymore about Tyler?"

Mia nodded and gulped, "Uh, yeah. Zack got a call just before I left this morning to say that he's now gained consciousness and is stable but is still in quite a critical state"

Chris sighed deeply "I still can't believe it. Hopefully he'll be back to normal soon"

The couple remained together for the rest of the day just talking and looking at different apartments for rent in the local area on Mia's phone. Before long the night was drawing in.

Mia yawned and stretched out, "It's waay past my bed time. Is it okay if I head back to the house?"

Chris smiled and nodded, "Of course. Good night, I'll see you tomorrow"

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Mia settled herself into her bed as soon as she arrived back to the house. She wrapped herself up in the quilt so that she resembled a cocoon and she soon drifted into a deep sleep.

Only a matter of hours later she was awoken by a strong shooting pain that channelled its way through her abdomen.

"Ugh" She screeched out as sat up, she clutched hold of her bump.

She sat breathing heavily for a few moments; gradually her breathing slowed back down and she attempted to lie back down.

Just as her head touched the pillow the searing pain slashed through her abdomen a second time.

"Ahh" She screamed out again, this time she felt a warm liquid escape from between her legs.

She felt herself panic as she suddenly realised what was happening. She tried to control her breathing as another contraction was soon to hit her.

With the third scream, Zack burst into her room.

"Mia, what on earth is going on?" He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Through short breathes she managed to speak, "I think it's happening"

Zack's eyes grew wide, "Oh crap"

Mia nodded "Yeah"

Zack took in a deep breath, "Okay, let's not panic. We can deal with this. Let's get you in the car and I'll just wake up Kaitlyn and Becca"

Mia nodded and again she focused on her breathing.

Without leaving the room, Zack took in a deep breath, "KAITLYN, BECCA! YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY NEEDED"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kaitlyn and Zackly quickly helped Mia into the back of the van whilst Becca stayed behind to quickly pack Mia a over-night bag. Kaitlyn hopped in beside her whilst Zack jumped into the side and started the ignition.

Kaitlyn gripped Mia's hand and held onto it as she experienced the next contraction.

"I think I should call Chris" Kaitlyn stated as she went to pull out her phone.

Mia quickly snatched the mobile away from her friend and chucked it onto the floor, "No, you're not doing that yet. This shouldn't be happening for another month, I mean this could all be a false alarm! You hear about it _all_ the time"

Zack slammed his hands onto the stirring wheel as he drove, "Mia, your effing waters have already broken. Girl, that baby is coming out pronto!"

Mia grumbled as she felt the next contraction building, "Please, just don't call him yet. He'll go out of his mind knowing there's nothing he can do to help. Please just wait until we get there and then get him"

Zack and Kaitlyn nodded in agreement. The remainder of the car drives conversation was purely to take Mia's mind off from the pain she was experiencing.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zack and Kaitlyn both helped Mia out of the car and through the hospital doors. Zack quickly flagged down the first nurse he saw,

"Hey, excuse me!" He called out as he chased after the nurse that was walking ahead of them.

The nurse halted and turned to face the trio. Zack jogged on down to the nurse, he stopped in front of her and looked back over his shoulder at Mia who was currently experiencing yet another contraction before facing back to the nurse, "M-my friend is having contractions, we think she's gone into labour…Please help us" He pleaded.

The nurse looked over Zacks shoulder, her gaze fixed on the young girl who was doubled over in pain. She quickly brushed past Zack and jogged straight up to Mia's side, steadying her and helping her back up to her feet.

Zack was quick to join them again. Kaitlyn put her hand on Zacks shoulder as he arrived to them, "You stay with Mia, I'm gonna go and see if I can get Chris"

Kaitlyn look back at the nurse and felt the sudden urge to clarify "He's the Dad, he's already here"

Zack nodded as he quickly moved forwards without hesitation to take over Kaitlyn's job as comforting their friend.

The nurse looked up to Kaitlyn, "Go straight to the birthing unit, the lady on the desk will be able to tell you which room she's been taken to"

Kaitlyn nodded and made no hesitation either as she darted off down the corridor, not even looking back. She lost count of how many people she pushed passed as she hurried though the hospital frantically looking for the hospital gate that Chris was on.

"There it is. Gate forty" She mumbled to herself as she pushed through the double doors leading to a whole new corridor. Again she almost sprinted down that corridor as she tried to find the ward that he was on. She grinned to herself as she finally found the number ward she was looking for.

She made no exceptions for any of the other inpatients as she bounced the doors open loudly.

Startled, Chris amongst the others who were previously sleeping peacefully sat up.

"Kaitlyn?" He asked confused as he rubbed his eyes.

"Chris!" She called out as she stood panting at the doorway, clearly exhausted from her sprint through the building, "It's Mia, and you've got to come now!"


	21. Chapter 21 - A new love

Chris laid still in the hospital bed, his eyes stared up at the ceiling as he tried to drown out the surrounding sound and force himself to sleep. Sleep- something that had become increasingly difficult since moving onto the shared ward. He ran his index finger over the stitches that had been put in place on the side of his head. He sighed… Right now he had originally planned to be looking for apartments with Mia…not laid up in hospital. The nurses had told him that he should be ready to be discharged in a few days time if he continued to recover nicely, but it was still a few days too long for him. For someone so used to being up and extremely active, to be laid around in bed all day and night was killing him.

His eyes felt heavy, the sound around him slowly started to fade away and he could feel his heart rate decrease. His thoughts soon allowed him to begin to doze off into a light sleep.

The sudden sound of doors smashing back against the wall soon fully awakened him once again. He flinched at the impact of the two solid objects colliding for a brief moment before letting out another sigh. Slowly he rubbed his eyes and eventually looked over towards the double doors entering the ward. His brow furrowed as he realised it was Kaitlyn stood in the door way. His eyes narrowed as he tried to gain focus on her. His tired eyes took the time to study her face; she was panting heavily and had a panicked look in her eye. Something was wrong….

He cocked an eyebrow at her as he sat up straight, "Kaitlyn?" His voice filled with confusion and concern.

He watched as he could sense a slight lift in her voice as she spotted him, "Chris!" She called out to him, still panting.

His eyebrow remained arched as he watched her catch her breath momentarily before she began to panic again, "It's Mia, and you have got to come…Now!"

All of a sudden he felt himself become a lot more attentive. His voice hardened with concern "Why, what's wrong?"

Kaitlyn's eyes widened and her hands began to involuntarily shake as she started to become impatient, "Chris, just hurry up!"

He moved his legs over so he was sat on the edge of the bed, he leant over towards the visitor chair and grabbed a plain white T-Shirt that matched his grey joggers and quickly slipped it on. He could feel Kaitlyn's eyes burning into him, he looked up again. This time a hard lump formed in his throat as he thought of all the worst possibilities… _Was she in a crash whilst on her way back to the house?_

He tried to swallow the lump as he asked one final time, "Please tell me what is going on?"

Kaitlyn sighed, "She's having the baby…like, right now"

Chris felt his entire body tense, "What?"

He observed as the dark haired girl quickly nodded to confirm. Within an instant Chris had rose to his feet, ignoring any pain he was feeling. It only took a matter of seconds before two nurses ran to his side.

"Sir, you need to sit back down" one said as she tried to encourage him to lie back down.

Chris shook his head at the nurse. He didn't care; all he wanted was to get to Mia and to be right by her side, "No, I need to go"

The second nurse joined him on the other side, "Sir, it's very important for your recovery that you take everything slowly. You were in a nasty accident-"

He was unable to contain his sudden frustration and was quick to interrupt the nurse, his voice became raised "Yes, I am fully aware that I was in an accident but right now, I really do not care. Right now, my girlfriend is having my baby and I need to be there with her"

He gulped back once he finished. In a much lower voice his voice spoke again, "Please, I need to be there with her… I don't want to miss this" His eyes pleaded with hers.

The nurse sensed his urgency and let out a reluctant sigh and gave him a small smile, "Okay what we will do is this. You let us run a few tests, like blood pressure etc and if they are all fine, I will take you down to the maternity rooms"

Chris side-eyed Kaitlyn for a brief second before obliging to the nurse's orders by sitting back down on the edge of the bed. The nurses quickly tottled off to collect the necessary equipment. Chris watched as they both disappeared around the corner. As soon as they were both out of sight, he hastily jumped to his feet. He darted a knowing looked over to Kaitlyn who responded with a grin. He walked his way over to her, keeping quiet so he doesn't gain any unwanted attention from the nurses.

As soon as he passed the wards door he picked up the pace. Kaitlyn followed closely behind. By the time the pair reached the main corridor, they were both practically sprinting through the building. Neither spoke to each other as they navigated their way around the hospital looking frantically for the maternity rooms.

After what felt like too long a time, they finally reached the right department. Chris quickly entered into the waiting area, where Becca sat with a large bag.

Becca quickly jumped out of her seat to pass Chris the bag, "Here, I think she might need this"

Without hesitation he took the bag from her, giving her a quick 'thanks' before dashing up to the information desk at the front of the room.

Still panting from the sudden run, he approached the secretary who greeted him with a smile.

"Hi, I, uh… I need to know which room Mia Treswell is in?" He asked anxiously.

The secretary looked down to her computer screen and then back up to Chris, "I'm sorry but I will need to know what relation you are to Mia"

He couldn't help but slam his eyes at the lady behind the desk; he sighed and pinched between his eyebrows. It was only a matter of time before his nurses track him down and try and persuade him to go back to his room so he needed to get into that room quick. "I'm the baby's Dad…Please I need to be with Mia"

The secretary once again looked down at her screen and again back up to him, "Mia is in room six, I will just have one of the nurses let you in"

Chris nodded and impatiently waiting for a nurse to join him. No more than thirty seconds later a short lady in a blue tunic came out from the room opposite him. He followed her down the corridor and to a door labelled with the number six. The nurse unlocked the door and allowed him inside.

He stood in the door way for a few seconds as he watched Zack try his best to comfort his girl. A small smile crept across his face as he watched over them, realising how true a friend Zack was to her, to both of them.

Quickly he dropped the over night bag down by the door and headed over to where it was all happening. Zack was the first to notice his presence.

As Chris looked down to the smaller man, he could see that all the colour was drained from his face.

"Hey man," Zack spoke as he stood up to pat Chris on the shoulder

"Hey, cheers for looking after her, bud" Chris responded giving reciprocating the pat on the shoulder.

His eyes moved over to Mia, who's eyes lit up as soon as they met with his. He moved away from Zack and straight over to her side. He knelt down and clasped her hand in his own, bring it up so he could lightly kiss the back of it. Neither of them noticed as Zack left the room.

Her smile grew, "You managed to come"

He wiped the hair from her face and placed a kiss on her forehead, "Nothing on this planet would prevent me from being with you during this moment"

They gazed lovingly at each other until another contraction hit her, causing her to whimper slightly. He moved closer to her, keeping hold of her hand as she gripped down on his,

"Deep breaths, beautiful, deep breathes. I'm right here with you" He soothed

All he wanted was to take the pain away from her. He could only imagine what she was feeling at that very moment. The pain slowly eased from her face and her grip around Chris's hand loosened.

Chris looked up and around for the midwife. She soon noticed him looking around for her and soon joined him.

He looked between Mia and the midwife before asking the question he had running through his mind, "Our baby, she's going to be okay, right? I mean, she wasn't due until the first of September…We're only in the last week of July now"

The midwife placed a comforting hand on Chris's shoulder and warmly smiled at the expecting couples as she felt Mia's eyes burning into her.

"I've been informed that you both have been through a lot over the past few days, the stress of it was most likely the reason why labour was triggered. Yes, your little girl is coming a lot earlier than expected but you are in the best place right now and with today's technology and knowledge, you shouldn't have anything to worry about"

He nodded and turned back to Mia brushing more hair from her face, "See, everything's going to be fine" He said in a voice low enough that only she could hear.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later and Mia's contractions had become much more intense and frequent. Each time she grasped onto Chris's hand she left deep nail marks embedded into his skin, not that he minded. He understood that the small pain that her nails caused was only a fraction of what she was feeling.

Mia decided against having an epidural and decided to only use gas and air, which she soon began to regret. By the time she had changed her mind it was too late and she had to continue the remainder of the birth on paracetamol and gas and air.

Chris stayed right by her side through every contraction, every push and every whimper she made.

"Baby, you're doing amazing. It won't be much longer now" He encouraged as he wiped the sweat from her forehead with a damp towel.

She looked up to him with a weak smile, "It'll be worth all the pain"

He smiled back at her, stroking her head as he watched her take in more gas and air, "It definitely will be" He whispered.

The nurse who was currently looking between Mia's legs quickly glanced up, "Okay I see her head. Mia, I need you to do three more big pushes and your little one should be with you"

Mia did as instructed, burying her face into Chris's arm with every push to muffle her pain endorsed screams.

After the second push he could hear and feel her whimpering into him, "Come on, beautiful. Just one more push and that's it"

She took in one final deep breath and pushed with all her remaining energy. Her breath caught as she could feel the infant being pulled from beneath her. With in seconds the tiny human was placed onto her chest. Her hand automatically reached up to cover over the baby's back and feel her warmth.

She felt herself fall in love almost instantly with a child she had only just met, everything about the new born seemed perfect from the top of her head to the tiny digits of her feet.

"Hi there baby girl"She cooed as the infant nuzzled into her. It wasn't like any feeling she had experienced before. Just as she said a mere half an hour ago, every bit of pain was worth this feeling.

All of a sudden she felt all the previous pain she was experiencing just disappear in the moment. She looked up at Chris lovingly, who marvelled at his new daughter, their eyes met briefly as he leant down and kissed her gently, "I'm so proud of you"

She felt a huge wave of emotion roll over her, tears of joy began to stream down her cheeks as she held her daughter close to her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After the nurses went through and completed the necessary health checks on the infant, the new parents were allowed a moment of peace and alone time to enjoy their new addition.

Chris moved the visitor chair as close to Mia's bed as possible, allowing him to wrap his arm around her shoulders as she sat up.

He looked down closer towards the tiny human that was tucked up in her mothers arms. He held his much larger finger under his daughters adorably small hands and watched as she lightly gripped around his finger with her tiny digits. He let out a satisfied puff of air before looking back up to Mia who was melting at the sight.

"She's perfect, just like her Mama" He smiled warmly.

Both of their eyes watched in awe over their little girl. She looked so pure as she laid snuggled up against Mia's chest, her tiny body was wrapped in a lilac knitted blanket. Mia peered down just in time to catch her flutter her eyes open for a few quick moments. A big smile grew across her face as she looked up to Chris, "She's definitely going to take after her Daddy"

He raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

She looked between the newborn and him, the smile not leaving her face once, "You see, she's got these big blue eyes… and they _certainly_ don't come from me"

Chris grinned back at her as he looked into her deep brown eyes, "I guess you've got a point"

Mia lightly laughed as she leant her head back against his arm, looking up at him affectionately. Chris returned the same look. He'd never felt this much positive emotion before, this moment was by far his favourite moment of his life so far. His face then turned to an expression of thought, "You know, we still haven't decided on a name for her."

Without a word, a small smile appeared on Mia's face. She looked down at the infant and back up to him. He chuckled quietly, "You have some thing in mind, don't you?"

Her smile grew warmer, "I mean if you don't like it, we'll think of something else but…it was her eyes a few moments ago that gave me an idea. Her pupils were like a small island surrounded by the ocean and I thought that's it, her names got to be Isla"

The same warm smile grew across Chris's face as he leant in to kiss her tenderly on the cheek, "I love it… and in that case, I feel her middle name should be Blue"

Mia nodded as she nuzzled into his neck, "Sounds perfect"

He smiled to himself as he repeated the name out to himself, "That's it then, _our_ little girl is now call Isla-Blue Powell"

He felt Mia smile against his neck. He wrapped his spare arm around her, holding her in an embrace as he kissed the top of her head. For him, the moment felt perfect, it was just him, the love of his life and his new born child cuddled up together.

"My perfect little family" He whispered as he nuzzled into the top of Mia's head. Letting himself enjoy the moment that he wished would never end.


	22. Chapter 22 - Home sweet home

Author note: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. But here, have some fluff to enjoy because there on hell of a lot of angst coming up ;)

Weeks had past since the horrific car accident and things were slowly beginning to return to normal. Everyone by this point had been deemed fit enough to be discharged from the hospital including baby Isla. This gave the new young parents enough time to make some better living decisions for them and their new arrival.

It was a small apartment on the border of Hartford. It was perfect, just around the corner from the college but far enough away that they could be a family in peace. The place was nothing special, in fact its décor was rather outdated but it was cheap and ideal for them at that moment.

Mia sat down on the edge of their bed as she looked around the master bedroom. Although she was surrounded by card boxes, now mainly empty; it still appeared quite roomy. She smiled to herself as she opened the final full box of items. The box was filled with memories, the ones she cherished most, all printed and put into frames. There were some of her parents and childhood, some of her friends and many of her and Chris and one special photo of Isla. One by one she placed them around the room.

"There, now it feels a little more like home" She muttered to herself as she positioned the final frame.

She turned her attention to her reflection in the mirror, flattening her hair and brushing the dust from her clothing. She couldn't help but flatten her shirt against her stomach. After two weeks her baby bump had almost deflated, in some ways she was pleased to finally get back to her old self but in other ways she was kind of sad to see the bump go. After all it had been apart of her life for a number of months. She sighed deeply before she headed to the main living area.

She leant against the wooden frame of the door with a warm smile on her face. She had expected to see her boyfriend busy at work with all the unpacking she assumed they had left but instead she found him stood in front of the window, cradling his new found love in his arms, gently bobbing her up and down whilst softly singing to her.

Chris couldn't help it, he wanted to be apart of this little girls life at every waking moment. He had always been good with kids, having pretty much been the father figure for his little sister and brother but this was different, this child was actually his own. He would admit, he was completely besotted by his little girl.

He continued to rock her gently to sleep until he caught Mia's figure out the corner of his eye. He looked up at her with a loving smile that spread across his face.

His eyes then gazed back down at little Isla in his arms, "I dropped the curtain pole on the floor and she woke up. She got quite distressed so I thought I'd try and get her back to sleep"

Mia couldn't help but melt. It was a feeling she was still getting used to. There was something about Chris being fatherly that sent a warm fuzzy feeling throughout her body. Quietly, she walked over to where Chris stood; she wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head against his shoulder as she too gazed lovingly at their daughter.

"Isn't this all so perfect?" She smiled at she looked up to Chris

He nodded in agreement, "I couldn't ask for anything more"

Mia let go of him and held out both her arms with a grin on her face, signalling for Chris to hand over the baby. He chuckled to himself as he gently plopped the infant into her arms. She cocked her head to one side as she noticed Chris's eyes not leaving Isla's tiny form.

She too couldn't help but chuckle "Okay, I'm going to put Isla down for a nap… which means you'll need to leave her be…just for an hour or so"

Chris pouted; "Well I guess I'll have to try my best" He called out as Mia walked away to the nursery room.

He sighed as Mia left his sight, still gazing at where she stood mere seconds before. His trance was suddenly disturbed by the vibration and ping of his mobile that was tucked in the side pocket of his jeans. He reached for it to view the notification. His brow furrowed at the text icon that appeared showing an unidentified number. Out of curiosity he opened the message that read;

' _Hey Chris, it's Nicole. I feel like we should have a catch up. Ring me when you get this ;)'_

His facial expression quickly turned to a scowl… what could she possibly want? He grunted and clicked off of the message deciding to ignore it completely. He knew Nicole well enough to not get involved in her mind games… he made that mistake before.

Without him realising Mia had returned. She looked at him concerned, reaching out to gently touch his arm, "Hey, everything okay?"

He shook his head slightly as if to erase the thoughts he was having, hell it's been over two years since they split, why was he even bothered by her message? He looked up at Mia with a small smile, "Nothing, I'm good" He gulped and paused a few seconds before remembering there was one final box that needed unpacking, "actually there's one box left that needs to be unpacked…but I think you should unpack this one"

Mia gave him a suspicious look as she edged towards the box. She crouched down next to it and went to reach out but stopped herself. Her hand hovered over the entrance to the box as she turned to Chris, still giving him that same suspicious look, just slightly more intense.

"This isn't one of those sick pranks you like to pull is it, where I open the box and a huge spider jumps out?"

Chris chuckled out loud "No, just bloody open it"  
He brought his hand up to his face almost chewing on his nails as he waited for her to open and see what was inside.

Her brow furrowed as she turned her attention back to the box in front of her. He carefully pulled open the card flaps and peered inside.

"Aww" she gasped as she pulled out one of the red flowered rosettes. The small box was filled with twenty individual roses.

Chris edged closer to her, eventually crouching down beside her. They gazed into each other as they knelt down side by side. Even after all this time, the couple had never felt so in love. Not just because of their new addition but the fact that they nearly lost each other in that car accident only weeks ago, it made them realise not to take each other for granted as they could go at any given moment.

Mia broke the trance by throwing herself into his arms. He held her tightly as she buried herself into him. He kissed the top of her head before finally speaking,

"I just wanted to say thank you for everything you've done these past couple of years and Isla wanted to say thank you for being such a great Mommy. We're both very lucky to have you"

Mia leant back to look into his eyes before pressing her lips firmly to his. The kiss lingered for a few seconds before becoming more passionate. Chris pulled back to catch his breathe, he looked at Mia sheepishly, "How about we go to the bedroom for some Mommy and Daddy time whilst Isla's asleep?"

Mia groaned loudly, "Yes but don't say that _'mommy and daddy time'_ …it makes us sound so old"

Chris couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he stood, pulling Mia up with him and then leading her away to their room.


End file.
